Breakable
by WishFlower
Summary: After Ron's tragic death, Hermione finds out she's pregnant, leaving her an emotional wreck. Draco escapes the Death Eaters and needs a place to hide. They help each other stay safe in a secluded village in Ireland.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N i have literally been thinking about this forever. And so, on this sunny august day, i am going to write it down. Please review! I don't own HP!**

**Summary: After Ron's tragic death, Hermione finds out she's pregnant, leaving her an emotional wreck. Draco escapes the Death Eaters and needs a place to hide. They help each other stay safe in a secluded village in Ireland. **

She stared out the window. Hands folded in her lap. Curls tangling down past her shoulders. Eyes blank. She saw nothing. She felt nothing. She was nothing. The sun had long since set, but she didn't bother to turn on a light. The glow from the half-moon outside Shell Cottage was enough for her. She didn't care.

She felt a sudden kick from her abdomen. She glanced down with disinterest at the bump protruding from her white night gown. She was six months pregnant. She knew she should muster up _some _emotion for the baby growing inside of her, but that just meant it has been six months since Ron's death.

She flinched at the thought and burrowed deeper into the old wing-back armchair that faced the grand bay window. Behind her, she knew without looking, was an unmade bed and a thin layer of dust covering everything. Including her. It had been six months since she last left Shell Cottage.

It was the Order's Headquaters, but she no longer went to meetings. She couldn't summon up any determination or cleverness. She just felt numb. And sad. Very, very sad.

She could hear nothing but the faintest resonance of her breath. Deciding to inflict pain upon herself, she remembered the night Ron died.

The war had been going on for two years. After escaping from the Malfoy Manor, they fled to Bill and Fleur's and contacted the rest of the Order. They decided on going out on missions to kill Death Eaters. The Order was doing that already, but it was then that Harry decided to join in. He knew he needed to find the other Horcruxes, but he wanted to be more obvious in his efforts to help the Order. Of course, Harry, Ron and herself would still go out every other day looking for the Horcruxes, they just always came back to Shell Cottage.

One night, they were on an assignment to stop a group of Death Eaters from attacking a muggle family's house. It was a trick, a ruse designed to wipe out Order members all at once. They were outnumbered; they thought it would be an easy job. They lost Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, and Hestia Jones that night. And Ron. Ron died that night. Hermione's thoughts were scattered with grief. She couldn't remember, she didn't even want to. But she had to.

It was Bellatrix Lestrange. The monster that had tortured Hermione and killed Neville's parents and Sirius. They were running and Bellatrix Crucio'd Ron. Hermione turned to run back to him. Kingsley Shacklebolt held her back. He dragged her forward. She screamed and fought against him. She couldn't leave Ron. She _couldn't. _And then Bellatrix looked into Hermione's wild eyes with a cold sneer and whispered the curse that ended Ron's life. Hermione had to watch as the light died from her love's eyes. She watched him tortured and killed. Kingsley Disapparated to Shell Cottage, keeping a firm grip on Hermione who kept screaming out Ron's name and trying to go back to him.

Hermione didn't blame Kingsley; she knew he had saved her life. But she would rather die a thousand times at Ron's side then live even one day without him.

She shut down after that. She never left Shell Cottage and spent most of her time in her dark and lonely bedroom. In the weeks following that horrific tragedy, she found out she was pregnant. The baby was conceived the night before Ron's death and Hermione went hysterical when the Healers told her. In her darker moments, she imagined what it would be like if Ron was still alive. He would marry her, she knew. They would hold the wedding at the Burrow and it would be one joyous moment in the midst of the war. He would help her pick out names and daydream with her if the baby would look more like him or her. They would paint the nursery together. He would be the most amazing father. But he was gone without even knowing what he left behind.

Hermione could feel tears roll down her face and pulled the thick, woollen blanket that Molly had made for her around her slim body. She was destroyed inside. She would never heal from a wound this deep. Ron's death ruined her. She knew that Harry was taking Neville and Ginny with him to hunt Horcruxes. He came in to have a discussion with her about it. He had said that Dumbledore had wanted three people to know... He didn't have to continue. Hermione knew she was in no condition to go on dangerous expeditions to find and destroy Horcruxes.

Distantly, she could hear shouts and thumps from downstairs. Mildly, she wondered what it was. She didn't care. She went back to staring out the window. The thick clouds rolling across the sky blocked the stars from shining through to her. Suddenly, she was panicking. She had to see the stars. She felt claustrophobic. She needed to see the stars. She yanked of the blanket and wrapped a pink dressing gown around her skinny body and raced downstairs. She was heading towards the back door when she passed the parlour.

About a dozen Order members were crowded around something. She paused and peered into the room. It looked more like a person sitting or lying on the floor.

"I don't trust him." Fred said warily, eying the person on the floor.

"I think we should give him the benefit of the doubt." Harry said firmly.

"Some people never change, Harry." Remus said, not unkindly. "He could be deceiving us."

"Why did you have to bring him back here?" Dean Thomas complained. "What are we supposed to do with him now that he's seen the Headquarters?"

"We could kill him?" George suggested with a gleam in his eye. When everyone turned to stare at him, he added. "Kidding! Mostly."

"Maybe you should just _talk _to me." A low voice drawled.

Hermione froze. She knew that voice. She quietly crept closer until she was face to face with Draco Malfoy.

**A/N i hope you all liked the first chapter! So basically, everything goes the same as deathly hallows until they get the Shell Cottage. If you have any questions, feel free to ask! Pretty please review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N so this is the second chapter. I don't own HP. **

The room went silent. Everyone was staring at Hermione who was staring at Draco Malfoy. She didn't say anything, just looked at him as if she had never seen him before. He was bound by tying spells at Harry's feet and looked up at her. He was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him.

Her hair was long and messy and her eyes were hooded and seemed over-large on her pale and bony face. Her skin was milk white and every bone showed clearly through it. She was wearing a long white nightgown and a pale pink dressing gown that couldn't quite hide her recent weight loss. Or, he noticed wryly, her baby bump. He remembered with a jolt that Weasley had been killed a few months back. It had caused quite celebration for the follower's of the Dark Lord. One of the Golden Trio had been taken down, it was a momentous occasion. Looking at her skeletal body and haunted expression, he wondered for the first time what it was like on her side when Weasley had died. He thought of her unborn child who was surely Weasley's as well and guilt overcame him.

"What is he doing here?" Hermione whispered finally. Her voice was rough and hoarse as if it didn't get used much.

"Harry was just in the middle of telling us." Mr Weasley said, shooting a cold look at Draco. Draco lifted his chin arrogantly.

Harry nodded. "As I was saying, the tip-off we got that Death Eaters were going to burn down a muggle school was just a scam."

Hermione's head jerked up and panic and fear were clear in her dark eyes, "Another one?" She cried, near hysteria.

Mrs Weasley put an arm around Hermione's frail shoulders and made low, soothing noises until Hermione stopped shaking.

"We showed up and all we saw was Malfoy standing alone and unarmed. We, of course, scoured the area but saw no sign of Death Eaters. We magically bound Malfoy and he told us what was going on." Harry explained.

Bill Weasley, Fleur, Seamus Finnigan and Luna Lovegood all nodded and looked to the leader of their mission to explain what happened next. They were all there with Harry, but they would let him explain.

"He told us he's left the Death Eaters and wants to join the Order." Harry said slowly, bewilderment heavy in his voice.

Shouts filled the room. Everyone was yelling about how he was lying and playing them. A few people were saying he at least deserved a chance to explain, but they were shouted down by louder voices. Throughout all of this, Draco was staring miserably at the carpet in front of him. He didn't fight against the invisible bonds that held him and didn't seem to be listening to the loud conversation concerning him.

"Hey. HEY!" Harry shouted over the din. "We're going to give him a chance to explain. We'll use veritaserum. And then if he's telling the truth, we'll... figure something out. And if he's not, we can just obliviate him and leave him for the Death Eaters to find."

Everyone seemed to be nodding. Someone came towards him, some Order member Draco had never seen before, and poured a couple drops of the truth-telling potion down his throat.

Harry turned to face him and Draco lifted his face to meet the other man's eyes. Harry seemed to be studying him. He was looking at him as if he could see the truth printed out on Draco's forehead.

"Is it true you've abandoned the Death Eaters and Voldemort?" Harry asked quietly. The room was collectively holding its breath while it waited for Draco's answer in the tense silence.

"Yes." He said. It was true, but the potion pushed the answer from his throat forcefully.

"Why?" Harry continued.

"Because I don't like what they're doing. I never have, but I finally have the nerve to leave." Draco said, spitting out the answer.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"I don't like seeing people in pain." Draco said with a blush blooming on his cheeks. "I mean, I used to. At least, I think I did. I wanted to be powerful and feared. But now that I've seen that – _really _seen it – I don't want that anymore. It scares me what the Dark Lord does. He terrifies me." By the end of this little speech, Draco was mentally kicking himself for blurting out embarrassing secrets.

The room was silent with shock. Everyone was staring at Draco. Except for Hermione. She was looking out the window and frowning slightly. Draco couldn't help but think she'd gone a little bit batty since Ron's death.

"But... why now?" Harry questioned quietly.

Draco turned away. He clenched his jaws. He wouldn't answer this. Let them give him back to the Death Eaters; he would keep his pride. "It was when Bellatrix killed Ron!" He blurted out then winced.

At once, Hermione lost the absent-minded blankness in her eyes and was staring at him with a sort of depth in her brown eyes.

The potion was forcing Draco to explain what he had meant before, "It was... shocking to me, for someone I'd known my entire life to just be... dead. I'd always thought that Weasley was sort of... invincible. Like Potter or Granger. One of the Golden Trio couldn't just _die. _And then a few months later, my father was torturing this little boy on the whereabouts of his father, who was apparently doing work within the Ministry to bring down the Death Eaters. The boy was only about eight or nine and was... screaming and crying. My mother started to cry as well, she was begging for my father to stop so then he slapped her. That was the first time he has ever physically harmed her. After that, she had been making plans to escape. She wanted to bring me with her. But she was found out and killed. By my father. I Disapparated just in time. I've been hiding in a cave, but I want to... help you. I have information and plans. I can be of use."

The Order of the Phoenix just looked at Draco for a moment, as if they were deliberating over his life. He took a breath and glanced over to Hermione. She was back to staring out the window.

Harry seemed to be the unofficial leader of this meeting, so it was him who had made the final decision concerning Draco.

"Alright, Malfoy." He said grudgingly. "You can stay. We'll sort out tomorrow what we're going to do with you. And you can give us this topic secret information of yours."

He nodded and Harry hesitantly undid the binding spell he had cast on Draco. Draco gave him a dry look and stood up slowly.

"I think it would be best if we kept your wand for now." Kingsley Shacklebolt said in that deep, commanding voice of his.

Draco scowled but obliged. He handed over his wand unhappily. He knew if he were to argue to keep it, it would seem suspicious.

Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas led him up a flight of stairs to a tiny bedroom that didn't have any windows and had the faint odour of mildew wafting through the dank air.

"Thanks, gents." Draco drawled. "This is first-class."

"Shut it, Malfoy." Seamus snapped.

Draco sneered at them until they slammed the door shut behind them. He pretended not to hear the lock click. He was still not trusted. It wasn't surprising, really. Not after all that he had done in his past. But he had _changed. _He wanted to be accepted.

He laid down on the lumpy mattress in the absolute darkness and finally let the grief over his mother's death in. Watching his father kill his mother and knowing he was next was the most horrible thing he had ever seen, and he had seen a lot of terrible things. He was truly alone now. He shut his eyes and tried to sleep.

**A/N what does everyone think so far? Please review! **


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione woke up late. It was past noon when she finally rolled out of bed. She had a hard time sleeping at night. It was too dark; she never knew what could be hiding where she couldn't see. And she kept having nightmares about the night Ron was killed. So she tossed and turned all night and slept through half the day.

She tottered down the hall to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. She washed her face and dragged a brush through her hair. She could remember basic hygiene, but that was about it. She ended up back in the old wing-back armchair with her room a mess behind her. She was still in her nightgown; she couldn't be bothered to change. It was raining today. She sat and watched the rain drops splash against the window until Mrs Weasley gently knocked on her door.

"Come in." Hermione murmured, her eyes never leaving the window.

"Hermione, love." Mrs Weasley began slowly. "Would you like something to eat? I've made soup and sandwiches."

"No thank you." Hermione whispered. "I'm not hungry."

"Hermione, you must eat something." Mrs Weasley insisted. "At least for the sake of the baby."

Hermione glanced down at her rounded stomach and sighed. She didn't want this. She was too young. There was a war going on. She would be a single mom. She had no interest in this baby. The only reason she was still blundering through life was that this baby was half of Ron. If she couldn't protect him, then she would protect his child.

She nodded and Mrs Weasley helped her up. She slipped on her house coat and trailed down the stairs after her. Mrs Weasley sat her down at the kitchen table and set a small bowl of soup and half a sandwich in front of the young woman. She knew that Hermione didn't eat that much, so she didn't give her a lot. Hermione nibbled the corner of the sandwich as Harry walked through the doorway.

"How did it go, Harry dear?" Mrs Weasley asked sympathetically.

Harry frowned, "I think he really has deviated from the Death Eaters. He did give us some useful information. I just don't know what we're going to do with him."

He sat across from his old friend and patted her hand, "How are you feeling today, Hermione?"

"Fine." She mumbled. He smiled at her then tucked in to the sandwich Mrs Weasley placed in front of him.

Hermione sipped at a small spoonful of soup and studied her friend. In the times her thoughts were clear, she often thought about how Harry was dealing with everything. She knew he was just as affected by Ron's death as she was, but he had to stay strong. She knew that he thought he had to support everyone, but all the deaths and fear were hurting him. She was impressed, though that he _could _keep going. The Weasleys were as well. Even though Mrs Weasley lost her youngest son, she took care of everyone and didn't complain or shut down. Hermione couldn't do that though. She tried to carry on, but it was like she was lying in a deep, dark hole and everything was going on just out of her reach.

Hermione felt the baby kick her and she winced.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked instantly.

"I'm fine. The baby keeps kicking me, though." She murmured and went back to her lunch.

"What are you going to do once the baby is born?" He asked.

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it." Hermione mumbled.

Harry was quiet for moment then said more to himself then to Mrs Weasley or Hermione, "I have an idea..."

He slipped from the table and nearly ran from the kitchen. Hermione didn't even watch him go. She ate two more bites of her sandwich and another sip of her soup then pushed her food away.

Mrs Weasley cleaned up the kitchen and Hermione fiddled with the sleeve of her pajamas. She felt tired again. She was debating on whether or not she should take a nap when Harry returned with Malfoy and a few other Order members.

"So I have a plan." Harry said. "I know it's kind of odd, but I think it'll work."

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

"I think that Hermione should go live in a safe house." Harry responded. "For her own protection."

"I agree." Mrs Weasley said. "Especially because of the baby."

"But..." Harry continued. "I think Malfoy should live with her."

"What? No!" Everyone instantly shouted that suggestion down.

"Harry, that's mental." George said.

"Why, though? He needs a place to hide from the Death Eaters and she needs to stay out of the action for her and her child's safety." Harry reasoned.

"But, he's..." Fleur didn't continue, just eyed Draco distrustfully.

"I am on your side! How many more times do I have to say it?" Draco snapped.

"Hermione can't stay by herself." Harry murmured. "She needs... help. She would need someone to take care of her. And Malfoy doesn't want the Death Eaters to find him."

Hermione didn't appear to be listening. She was staring off into space and picking a stray thread off her sleeve. In that moment, Draco hated her. He hated everything about her from her vacant expression and gaunt face to her bird-like wrists and her tangled hair. He hated how absolutely _wrong _she was acting. She wasn't supposed to be sitting there and taking this, she was supposed to be fighting and arguing and vowing to never live with the inbred ferret. She was supposed to want to stay and fight, not go hide in some hut in the forest. When did she get so damned fragile?

"Is that okay with you, Hermione?" Ginny asked her gently.

She looked up with a lost expression. Draco was furious at her. She was the most annoying person he knew, she wasn't some little baby bird that couldn't survive on its own. But she was so breakable, so weak. So unlike how she used to be.

Hermione nodded. Looking slightly bewildered, like she wasn't quite sure what was going on.

"What about you?" Harry asked Draco brusquely.

"Fine." Draco snapped.

Mrs Weasley put a mothering arm around Hermione and led her upstairs, presumably to pack a bag. The Order members gave him cold looks before leaving the kitchen.

Harry stood awkwardly before Draco then gestured for him to take a seat.

"We need to talk." Harry said seriously. "Hermione is severely depressed about Ron's... death." Harry winced then continued. "She's also pregnant, as you saw. She's in a frail state of mind so if you hurt her, or do anything to harm her, you will be... killed." Harry said the last word with conviction even though he didn't look too pleased at the thought of death.

"So basically, I have to play nice with Granger or I'll be executed?" Draco drawled.

"Basically, yeah." Harry snapped back. "This is for _your _protection as well. I trust that you really have left the Death Eaters, but if anything happens to her... you will be in serious trouble."

"So when are we leaving for this safe house?" Draco asked lazily.

"Tonight. We have several safe houses for Order members to go to, if need be. I think the best one for you two would be in the south-west of Ireland, in a town called Dingle." Harry said.

"Fine." Draco said.

"This house as the highest protection on it. We will also be putting a Fidelius Charm on it when we get there. I will be the Secret Keeper." Harry told him. "This town doesn't have any wizards in it, so you will have to blend in. You will have to buy clothes when you get there, since you didn't bring anything."

"Alright." Draco said uncaringly.

Harry gave him a dirty look and left the room. Draco let out a deep breath and shut his eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

They Apparated to the tiny cottage just as dusk was approaching. Harry was holding Hermione's frail hand in his own; he thought her too unstable to Apparate. Hermione and Draco each had a bag of clothes and other such stuff with them. Apparently, the house was furnished inside with the usual things – couches, tables, beds and such – it just needed their personal touch.

The house was more like a cottage. It was made of stones and had a blue door with red flowers in the window boxes. A stone path led down to the dirt road and trees surrounded the property. Harry led them into the house and flicked on a light. The front door opened to a small mudroom with a white bench with a shelf with hooks over it and a closet. Beyond that was a living room with a fireplace and a couple of over-stuffed couches. There was a staircase off to the side that led to the second floor. Behind the sitting room was a bright kitchen with a scrubbed wooden table and lots of windows that looked out to the woods behind the house.

"Well, this is it." Harry said.

Hermione was gazing around her new home with owlish eyes and Crookshanks brushed against her ankles.

"Malfoy, you'll have to get a job to buy food and such. But don't use your real name, either of you, for anything." Harry told him. "Hermione is too... delicate to work at the moment. You know, with her pregnancy and all." Harry shot him a meaningful look to suggest that it wasn't her pregnancy that was making her delicate.

Draco scowled and looked away.

"I've got to go; I'll visit you in a little bit. I won't be sending any letters, I don't want attract unwanted attention. And you aren't connected to the floo network because the Death Eaters are controlling the Ministry. I'll cast the Fidelius Charm as soon as I'm outside. Stay safe, love." Harry told Hermione all of this very quickly. He hugged her tightly, kissed her cheek then hurried outside.

Through the window, Draco could see Harry whisper a spell and then a blue-white light came from his wand, covered the cottage then disappeared. Harry disapparated and Draco and Hermione were left in silence. She had wandered over to the window over the sink and was leaning up so she could see the sky.

"You can see the stars here." She mumbled to herself.

Draco groaned. He was locked away in the Irish country side and his only company was a depressed head case.

Hermione patted her stomach then tottered up the stairs to the second floor. It had three bedrooms and one bathroom. She chose the front bedroom that had a view of the distant town and Atlantic Ocean. The room was painted pale blue with white detailing. It had a double bed with a white quilt on it. Beside the bed was a night table and there was a large window with lacy white curtains. There was a white dresser. There was a wardrobe on one side of the door and a stand with a washing basin on the other. She felt better being in a new place that carried no memories of Ron.

She decided to unpack her small suitcase. She didn't have much; just some t-shirts, jeans and robes. Though they would be living as muggles so the robes wouldn't go to much use. She put her one picture of Ron beside her bed and smiled fondly at it. In the picture, they were sitting on a grassy bank outside the Burrow. The sun was shining and a gentle summer breeze was blowing her sundress and their hair. They were both laughing and he was holding her hand. Tears sprang up in her eyes. She loved that memory. She whimpered and slid out of her travelling robes and into her pajamas. She curled up in the cool sheets and fell asleep.

Draco woke up early the next morning. The sun had just come up and dew covered the grass outside. The worn wooden floor was cool under his bare feet. He pulled on jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt to hide the ugly black mark that stood out against his white skin. He longed to be back in bed under the soft red quilt, but he knew if he wanted to stay safe, he would have to find a job and support Hermione while she was still mental. He could read between the lines. Harry had told him to get a job and Hermione was still too batty to work. He had to be nice to Granger or he would either get killed or be thrown back to the Death Eaters. Which basically ended up being the same thing. Playing nice involved buying food, which he needed money to do so. He wished he could access his account at Gringotts, but the Death Eaters had taken that over as well.

He left his cream coloured bedroom and tromped down to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. As he leaned against the countertop, he debated over his latest problem. He had no idea how to go about getting a muggle job, or what kind of jobs muggles usually held. He finished his tea and grabbed an apple for the road.

As he walked down the country road, he munched his apple and took in his surroundings. It was a brisk morning, typical for mid-April. The sky was pale blue with fluffy clouds scudding across it. It was about a fifteen minute walk to Dingle, and in that time, the air got warmer and the sky lighter. He wandered through the quaint town as people were opening up their shops and getting ready for the day. He eventually passed a second-hand bookshop that had a 'help wanted' sign in their window. He decided that was a good place to start.

A bell jingled as he pushed open the door, and immediately an old woman bustled over.

"How can I help you?" She asked.

"I, er, saw the sign in your window..." He gestured awkwardly behind him. "And I'm looking for a job."

"Well, do you have a resume?" She asked expectantly.

"A resume?" He repeated. He didn't have one, actually. You didn't exactly need recommendations to become a Death Eater.

Just then, a woman and a small child entered the shop, distracting the store owner. Draco snatched a stray piece of paper off the counter and tapped it with his wand, creating a fake resume while the store owner wasn't looking.

When she turned back towards him, he held out his resume and smiled. She looked it over and then said, "What is your name, son?"

"D-aniel... Mason." He stammered. It wasn't safe to use his real name, and remembered just in time.

"Well, Daniel Mason, it looks like you've got the job. You seem very qualified." The woman said. "My name is Alice O'Brien. You can stock shelves today. We'll get you a name tag in a few days."

"Thank you." He said gratefully.

She pointed him over to a bin with a bunch of used books piled in it. People could drop off books they didn't want anymore, and they would sell them. She quickly explained about the system they used to stock the shelves, and luckily he was a fast learner otherwise he would've been completely lost. People came and went and Alice dealt with them all. Draco decided he liked her. She had a stiff, no-nonsense kind of personality, but also was kind towards the children who came in. She had short brown hair that was liberally streaked with grey. Her eyes were pale blue and she wore simple muggle clothing. She appeared to be in her mid-fifties or so.

At noon, she said to him, "You can go for lunch now if you want. Be back in an hour for your next shift."

He decided to walk back to the cottage and have lunch there. When he arrived, he saw Hermione still in her nightdress and sitting at the kitchen table looking out the glass doors to the back garden.

"What are you doing still not dressed?" He asked rudely. She barely spared him a glance. "God Granger, you are the laziest person I have ever met." She didn't so much as sigh. It was simply no fun goading her if she didn't get angry.

He wasn't quite sure how to make himself lunch, since he had previously always been served by a house-elf, but he figured it was easy enough. He took out some bread and some meat and put it together. It wasn't as tasty as his house-elf Plinky made, but it was the best he could do. He had some pumpkin juice and saw on the clock it was nearly time to go back to O'Brien's Second-hand Books.

"I'm going to work now, Granger." He told her. "I want to do something productive with my life, unlike you who seems content to live your life in a chair gazing out a window."

Hermione didn't even seem to be listening. He scowled and made as much noise as possible leaving the house.

Hermione sat in the silence and watched the back garden. It was very peaceful here. More so than at Shell Cottage where crowds of people and the constant sound of crashing waves disturbed her quiet. But out here, in the middle of nowhere, it was so serene.

She sat still for the rest of the day. It was like sleeping with her eyes open. She wasn't thinking, wasn't feeling. She was just numb. She sat there, in a wooden kitchen chair facing the glass kitchen doors, but not really seeing much of anything.

Draco came home when the sun started to slip towards the west. He slammed doors and cupboards and made as much noise as he could, just to annoy Hermione. She didn't move from her spot by the window in the fading sunlight.

"Have you eaten today?" Draco snapped at her. He was pretty sure letting her starve would fall under the category of doing her harm.

"I'm not hungry." She whispered faintly.

He glared at her then whipped a bun at her. "Eat it." He commanded. She nibbled on the bun slowly, but eventually finished it. He then threw an apple at her. She slowly ate that as well. Taking care of another person was exhausting. He made himself a can of soup on the stove then went into the sitting room.

It had lots of bookshelves and end tables with lamps. He settled into a plush red chair with a novel and read until he was starting to fall asleep in his chair. He saw that Hermione was sitting in the pitch black kitchen, still staring out the window. He shook his head at her idiocy and went upstairs to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

The next few days past very much like their first. Draco would go to work and when he came home, Hermione was sitting in the same chair looking out to the garden. He would throw food at her until she ate something and then he read in the evenings. It was a quiet, simple life. It made Draco antsy. He wanted to go out and actually _do _something. It wasn't until about a week and a half had past that anything different happened.

Hermione was sitting in her chair as usual; when she saw Crookshanks amble pass the glass door towards a small tree at the edge of the woods. She usually let Crookshanks out in the morning, and then brought him back in at night. This morning, he was stalking a bird's nest. Crookshanks was a hunter, so Hermione was used to him bringing back dead animals. But this time, she was anxious, because she knew that that nest had a baby bird in it. This was the first time since Ron's death that she actually cared about something. She would _not _let anything happen to that baby bird.

She bit her lip and then, for the first time in months and months, went outside. She made her way to the tree Crookshanks was crouching below. The tree was very short, when she stood on her tip-toes, she could look inside the nest. There was a baby-bird in it, and a mother. Hermione's heart went out to them, there was no father bird.

Crookshanks tensed, ready to make the leap to the Blue-Jay's nest.

"No, Crookshanks!" Hermione cried. "Bad! You don't hurt those birds!"

He gave her a very chilly look, and then stalked off to find prey that his owner won't defend. Hermione was thankful that her cat was intelligent enough to listen to her; she just worried about the other animals who would want to snack on the poor mother bird and her baby.

She spotted an old shed half hidden by a copse of trees. She wondered if maybe there was some wire or something she could string up to keep the other animals away. She opened the shed and crinkled her nose against the stench of mildew and mould. She looked around and then noticed something even better than wire. A birdhouse. It was simple, made of wood and painted white with an apple green roof. She even saw a ladder. She dragged the ladder over to the bird's tree and set it up. She brought out the birdhouse and started climbing the ladder with it. She was hanging it up on a higher branch when Draco came home for his lunch break.

"Granger! What. The. Bloody. Hell. Are. You. Doing?" He shouted at her. Dammit, she was hard not to murder. There he was trying to keep her alive for Potter, so _Draco _could stay alive and Granger does everything in her power to thwart him!

"I'm hanging up a birdhouse." She said. It was the first thing she said to him in the week and a half they've lived together. Her voice was hoarse and gravelly and what she was saying made him want to shake her.

"_Why?" _He asked with forced calm.

"So the animals won't eat the Blue-Jays." She explained softly, glancing down at the nest. "The poor mother bird is all alone with the baby. The father is gone and I have to protect them." Tears were rising in her eyes and he groaned in frustration.

"Granger, get off the ladder." He gritted his teeth and told her. "You've hung the birdhouse up, so just slowly climb down."

She climbed down step by step that old ladder in her bare feet and her old-lady nightgown. She was so pale and fragile, kind of like the baby bird. Draco didn't even want to think about what Potter would say if Hermione fell off a ladder and hurt herself or the baby. Her feet slipped a little on the last rung and Draco nearly had a coronary.

"Would you stop being so bloody mental and at least _try _to take care of yourself?" He said scathingly to her.

Her head immediately snapped up, "I'm not _mental._" She seethed. "I just care about the well-being of woodland creatures!"

"Would you please care about the well-being of woodland creatures from the ground next time?" He snapped at her.

She glared at him, "I don't need you to take care of me."

"Obviously you do since you won't even eat anything unless someone forces you too!" He growled.

She was floundering for what to say next. While arguing and bantering with Malfoy used to come so easily for her, she was now stuck on what to snap back at him.

She settled for the tried and true, "I hate you, you inbred ferret!"

It was a very concentrated effort on his part not to call her the 'm' word. But he had changed his ways, and had promised himself that he wouldn't slip back into his old self. He checked his watch and swore under his breath. "Great. Now I'm late for work."

He stomped off back inside the house to go out the front door leaving Hermione standing barefoot and alone in the backyard. Hermione was suddenly exhausted. The mission to save the Blue-Jays and the fight with Malfoy really wore her out. She hadn't felt a rush of emotion like this in a long time. She needed a nap.

As Hermione was dozing, Draco was arriving at the bookshop. He was still scowling and glaring at everything that crossed his path. He roughly pushed open the front door and slammed it shut behind him.

"You're late." said a stern, Irish voice to his right. Alice was standing behind the counter with one hand on her hip and peering at him over her glasses.

"I had a slight problem to deal with." Draco muttered.

"Oh?" Alice said, concerned. "Nothing too serious, I hope."

Draco dragged a hand through his blonde hair, "Just a woman who is driving me mental."

"Your wife?" Alice said with a knowing smile.

Draco was about to reject that ludicrous suggestion with a laugh and a sneer, but he realized that would be an excellent reason for the two of them to be living together.

"Er, yeah." He murmured, shocked that he was telling people that he was married to _Granger. _"She was trying to save a baby bird today. But she's pregnant, so climbing ladders is clearly dangerous, but she's a stubborn pain-in-the-arse and wouldn't listen to me." He ranted without thinking about what he was saying.

"Your wife is pregnant?" Alice repeated in surprise. "But you're so young!"

"Umm..." Draco was doing some quick thinking. "That's why we moved to Dingle. When we found out she was pregnant, we eloped."

Alice smiled and Draco could not believe that he had just made up an elaborate lie saying that he and Granger were married and having a baby together.

"I would love to meet her someday." Alice said as an elderly couple walked in. Alice moved over to help them and Draco was left standing by the counter, absolutely stunned. This was not part of the plan. And like hell would Alice ever meet Hermione. That disaster would not happen.

Draco got home just as the sun was setting. When he walked into the kitchen he was startled to see Hermione standing at the counter sipping at a glass of water and very slowly eating a peanut butter sandwich. It was the first time Draco had seen Hermione voluntarily eat something. She only ate half of it, but it was still such a shock that Draco couldn't even say anything. After eating her half a peanut butter sandwich, she looked a little less emaciated and more like a human being. More like someone who actually cared if they lived or died.

She went to bed immediately afterwards and throughout the whole evening, didn't say one word to Draco. Even still, he could feel the change in her, though he barely knew her. This was not the girl with the bucked teeth and overflowing book bag who he teased nor the depressed young woman who had lost her love and her reason to live. This was someone new. Someone who cared about something, though it was just a couple of Blue-Jays, it had made her feel needed and protective. This version of Hermione was quieter, less sharp with her tongue and more timid. She was still delicate, but clearly was trying to grow stronger, proven by her adventure with the birdhouse and her argument with Draco.

He wasn't sure what to make of this new Hermione. All he knew was he was curious to find out more about her.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione found herself changing, little by little. Instead of waking up mid-afternoon, she found herself waking up slightly earlier each day. It wasn't a big change, hardly worth noting, but she was now up in time to see Draco leave for work. She was also eating again, without being told to. Not much, but she did try to remember to eat three meals a day and the four food groups. And while she did still spend her days sitting by the window, she was now watching the mother and baby birds make their new home in the birdhouse she set up. Every once in a while, she would step outside and peer into the birdhouse to check on her new friends.

After a few weeks of this, she began to notice how overgrown and weedy the garden was. It didn't seem fair for the birds to have to live in such a mess. It was a warm morning in early May when she decided to do something about it.

Draco had left for work already as Hermione was watching the mother bird swoop towards the birdhouse, having to dodge past a hanging plant. Hermione thought that was incredibly unfair so she grabbed her wand and headed outside.

"_Diffindo." _Hermione said confidently. The charm was meant to sever the weeds that were wrapping around the birdhouse, but the weeds barely moved. Hermione frowned. She'd never had trouble with a spell before.

"_Reducto!_" She tried again. The plants jerked a bit then fell still again.

"_Relashio!" _She cried a bit desperately. Nothing.

Trying to control rising panic, Hermione knew what was wrong. Her depression about Ron's death had shaken her magical ability. Like when Tonks couldn't change her appearance at will when she was heartbroken about Lupin, Hermione was unable to perform magic at her usual standards.

In a last attempt, she whispered, "_Lumos_." Her wand flickered faintly for a second, and then went out.

Hermione couldn't breathe. It was too much. She couldn't deal with losing her magic on top of losing Ron. She collapsed to the ground. She put her face in her hands and felt herself slipping back into that place of fear, anger, pain and desperation that she had been living in for the past six and a half months.

Suddenly, she heard a faint chirping above her. She lifted her tear stain faced to see the baby bird standing at the opening to the bird house looking down at her. The mother was gone; probably off to search for food. Hermione remembered her goal to clean up the garden, and as she looked at the baby bird and felt the stirrings within her from her own baby, she stood up and dusted herself off. She would do this, if not by magic then by using her hands. She looked down at her pajama pants and baggy t-shirt and decided she should wear sturdier clothes.

She changed into the pregnancy clothes Ginny had bought her a few weeks back, but had never worn before. She dug around in the shed until she found suitable tools to pull weeds and cut back the wild hedges. She pulled on some gardening gloves and got to work.

Draco came home for lunch expecting to see Hermione at her usual place in a chair by the window. Instead, she was walking in to the kitchen from the back garden. She was wearing jeans that had dirt smeared over the knees where she had been kneeling, she was barefoot and had on a light blue pregnancy t-shirt. Her curly brown hair was up in a ponytail with a few loose curls hanging by her face. The sunlight behind her was making the stray hairs glow. Her face was flushed from the exercise and sunlight as well from the crisp spring air. She was pulling off dirty gardening gloves and, for the first time in months and months, smiling. She was beautiful, Draco caught himself thinking.

Immediately, he looked away. This was Granger. She was _not _beautiful, he told himself sternly.

"This is for you." He said gruffly, without looking at her. He slammed a book down on the counter next to her, making her jump. "It's from Alice."

"Who's Alice?" Hermione asked, picking up the book.

"My boss. I work at the second-hand bookshop." He explained.

Hermione was startled to see that it was a baby names book. She hadn't even thought about names yet.

She looked up to see Draco watching her. Instantly, he dropped his gaze, looking furious with a suspicious pinkness to his pale cheeks.

"I was just about to make lunch," Hermione said slowly. "I can make some for you, if you'd like."

For a second, it seemed like he wouldn't answer. "Fine." He finally grumbled.

She put the kettle on and made a few sandwiches for them. He ate as fast as he could then ran out of the house. As he walked down to Dingle, he contemplated his recent loss of sanity. Granger _wasn't _beautiful, he told himself over and over again. She wasn't. He decided to put her out of his mind, at least for the rest of the day.

The second he entered the store, Alice was rushing over, asking, "Daniel, are you alright? You look odd."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said. "It's just that my – my wife was gardening."

Alice just looked at him and he realized he would have to expand on that.

"It's a big deal because about half a year ago one of her best friends was killed, and she's been depressed ever since. This is the first time since that she's shown in interest in something or left the kitchen chair." Draco murmured.

"I'm so sorry." Alice murmured as well. "Truly. I know how it is to lose someone you love."

Draco looked up to see Alice with tears in her eyes, staring blankly out the window. He wanted to know what she meant, but didn't want to ask. But in a moment, she had moved on. Blinking back tears and shaking her head against the grief.

"By the way, I never learned your wife's name." Alice said.

"Er, it's... Her – Harriet." Draco stammered. "Her name is Harriet."

"Did you give her the book I gave you?" Alice inquired.

"Yes, she seemed rather interested." Draco replied.

"Good." Alice smiled. "I'm glad you're happy, Daniel."

Draco felt strangely guilty for lying to Alice. She had proven herself to be a friend to Draco, and he hated to lie to her. He also hated having to remember the fake names for himself and Hermione, as well as the other lies to cover up their identities. But it was necessary to keep them safe.

**A/N sorry its so short! I just wanted to say thanks for all the lovely reviews! I really love them so pretty please review! **


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione discovered that she loved working in the garden. She loved the feel of the earth around her fingers and the scent of plants and dewy grass in the air. She found it easier to breathe when she was working outside. The grief and the feeling like the walls were closing in on her went away when she was in the garden. She could relax.

It took a month to de-weed and clean up the back garden. It was early June when she decided she wanted to plant things. She was pleased to notice rose bushes that were beginning to bloom and tulip stems poking out from the dark earth.

One day, after Draco had left for work already, Hermione decided to go into town to buy seeds to plant. It would be her first time in Dingle; Draco had always bought the groceries and such before. She was a little nervous because for the past seven months, she had never willingly left her house. She showered and dried her hair. She tried to tame her bushy curls, but didn't quite manage it. She ended up just sticking a black head-band onto her head with a few curls hanging by her face. She slipped on a pair of sandals and shut the front door behind her.

The walk to Dingle was surprisingly quick; only about fifteen minutes. Though Hermione was panting by the end of it. She was in her seventh month of pregnancy and pretty much had to waddle everywhere. She walked down the sidewalk, staring in awe at the brightly coloured buildings and houses. There was nothing like that in London. She was wandering down the street when she passed a pale blue building with a sign that said 'O'Brien's Second-Hand Books'. She smiled and pushed open the shop door. The bell above the door jingled and she inhaled the familiar scent of old books. She realized she hasn't read a book since before Ron died and frowned. She moved towards the history aisle (her favourite) when a voice called out to her, "Can I help you, miss?"

She turned in surprise to see Draco standing there looking equally as surprised to see her. Instantly, he moved to her side and started whispering in low, urgent tones. "Okay you need to listen to me. I've only got about a minute to explain this all to you. I had to make up a resume to get this job and obviously I had to make up a fake name as well-"

"Daniel?" She inquired, pointing to his nametag.

"Yes, it was the only name I could think of off the top of my head. Daniel Mason. But the thing is, I had to tell my boss, Alice, your name was Harriet and you were my-"

"Dan!" A sharp voice interrupted him. "What are you up to?"

Alice raised her eyebrows at him and he moved aside, leaving Hermione in view. Immediately, Alice's lips parted in shock as she took in Hermione's pregnant belly and how close Draco was to her.

"Dan is this Harriet?" Alice said, moving forward to clasp Hermione's frail hand in her own. "Do you mind if I call you Hattie? Oh, it is so good to finally meet Dan's wife! I'm Alice O'Brien, I own the bookshop. It is such a pleasure to have Dan work for me, he is so hard-working and he talks about you all the time! "

Draco cringed as Hermione's eyes bulged in horror and shock at the word 'wife'.

"No-" She started to say, but Draco elbowed her in her side.

"But wait," Alice said in confusion, turning up Hermione's left hand. "What happened to your wedding ring?"

Hermione was still openly gaping at Alice so Draco quickly jumped in and said to Hermione, "I have it here. You, er, left it on the kitchen counter when you were gardening last night and I didn't want you to lose it. I was going to give it back to you today at lunch when I saw you."

He pulled from his pocket a gold Claddagh ring, the hands holding the crowned heart. He slid it on Hermione's ring finger slowly, watching the shocked and confused expression in her eyes. The ring fit perfectly.

"Now you know you shouldn't remove or put back on a wedding ring without a kiss." Alice said. "It's bad luck if you don't."

"I think I'll chance it." Draco said quickly. Hermione was too busy staring at the ring on her finger.

"Oh no, you can't!" Alice exclaimed. "It could harm your love!"

"We don't really believe in superstitions." Draco said hurriedly.

"It's not a superstition, it's a fact." Alice said bossily.

"We're really quite private-"

"Kiss the girl!" Alice exclaimed loudly.

Draco turned to Hermione and cupped her slender face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. Surprisingly, she let him. And what was even more surprising was that he may have liked it. Her lips were soft and warm and in the last second before he pulled away, it had almost felt like she was kissing him back.

"There!" Draco said fake-cheerfully. "No more bad luck!"

Alice was smiling and Draco carefully avoided Hermione's eyes.

"It was very nice to meet you, Alice." Hermione said, moving towards the door. "But I really must go. I'm looking for a gardening shop."

"Oh just down the street to your left." Alice said kindly. "It was so nice to meet you, Hattie dear."

And just as Hermione was opening the door, Draco could see tears pooling in her eyes.

Alice went back to the front counter. Draco groaned. And before he could change his mind, he ran out of the shop after Hermione.

She walked towards the edge of the sharp cliffs of Dingle and the movement made the ring on her hand glitter in the sunlight. She felt the tears welling up again. How could she do this to Ron? How could she pretend to be married to someone else? And someone who had mocked and teased Ron for years, no less. And then he had kissed her. And she had let him. She was horrified and disgusted by this. She had kissed another man. She had betrayed Ron.

Hermione stood at the edge of the cliff and stared down at the churning ocean below. It was a straight drop down. One step and she would be in the cold blue water. It would be relaxing; like falling asleep. And then she would be with Ron again. Oh, she would do anything to be with Ron again. As if it could hear her thoughts, the baby inside her kicked. She was jolted back to reality. She wouldn't do this. For the sake of her unborn child who was part of Ron. She couldn't keep him safe, but she vowed to keep his child away from harm. She stepped back from the edge.

"Granger!" A sharp male's voice called from behind her.

She turned and was unsurprised to see Draco standing not ten feet from her.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" He asked, trying to sound commanding and angry but Hermione could hear the nervousness in his voice.

"Relax, ferret." She said, wiping her eyes. "I'm not going to jump."

He breathed a barely noticeable sigh of relief. She was staring out into the horizon with her arms tightly wrapped around herself, like she was holding herself together. Draco took a minute to just look at her. She looked strangely innocent with her white eyelet dress and simple leather sandals and her long curly hair being tossed about by the ocean wind. But when she turned around he could see her swollen belly and tear-stained cheeks and haunted eyes, and he knew she was no longer innocent.

She was turning the Claddagh ring round and round on her finger and finally said, "Where did you get this?"

"Trinket shop on the way home from work a few weeks ago." He muttered.

She nodded.

"I don't want it." She said bluntly. "I don't want to pretend to be married to you. I don't even like you. And I don't want to betray Ron like this."

Draco wouldn't deny that that stung a little bit. And he didn't point out that she couldn't betray Ron, because Ron was dead.

"As if I would ever want to marry _you_." He scoffed. "It's part of our disguise. It's to keep you and Weasley Junior safe."

She paled slightly.

"Fine." She finally hissed angrily. "But I won't like it."

He rolled his eyes and she stopped over to him, holding out her palm.

"What?" He snapped.

"I need money to buy plant seeds." She said haughtily.

He raised his eyebrows and smirked.

"Of course, darling. Why don't you go home and bake me a cake while I work to support you, my petal." He said mockingly.

She gave him an ice-cold look and snatched the Euros from his hand.

As she stormed away from him, he called after her, "See you at home, love!"

He cackled as she gave him the evil eye over her shoulder. He went back to work with a smirk on his face.


	8. Chapter 8

It took three days for Hermione to get over her anger at Draco. Though throughout this time, he mocked and teased her about everything from her hair to her extra pregnancy weight, like always. He came home for lunch one day to find Hermione in the garden as usual, up to her elbows in moist, dark earth.

"Hey Granger, how're the flowers?" He asked nonchalantly, mostly because he knew his speaking to her irritated her, he didn't particularly care how the garden was. He took a sip of the fizzy brown muggle drink called 'Pepsi' that he realized he was missing his whole life.

"I just finished planting the marigolds. And yesterday I planted chrysanthemums. I found roses and tulips already in the ground and I'm nearly finished with the sunflowers." She told him.

"Fascinating." He drawled lazily, taking a sip of his drink.

"Sunflowers are my favourite flowers." She continued. "They're so romantic. And they follow the sun."

"How are _flowers _romantic?" Draco asked drily, rolling his eyes at her.

"Well," Hermione paused and sat up straighter, thoughtfully. "There's a legend. A muggle legend."

"I'm sure that's very interesting, Granger." Draco smirked, backing away. "But I have more important things to do than listen to-"

"It's a Greek legend about a maiden named Clytie." Hermione began, seemingly forgetting about Draco. "She was in love with the sun god, Apollo. And for a while, he loved her in return. But he grew bored and left her. Clytie was heartbroken and spent her days watching Apollo move across the sky in his fiery chariot. Eventually, the gods took pity on her and turned her into a flower. That's why sunflowers follow the sun."

Draco watched as tears clouded her eyes. She hastily wiped them away and looked down.

"Do sunflowers really follow the sun?" He asked quietly.

She looked up and nodded. "Yes." She murmured.

She started to stand up, but stumbled. Her balance was off because of the pregnancy and she was about to topple over backwards when Draco grabbed her gloved hands and pulled her towards him on impulse.

She gasped in surprise and lost her breath for a second as she stared into his bright silver eyes. Both of her hands were held by his; she could feel his warmth through the gardening gloves she was wearing. She couldn't do anything but stare into his sterling eyes. He blinked; startled. She watched the movement of his pale eyelashes...

Suddenly, he pushed her away. He stepped back awkwardly and didn't meet her gaze. He stormed back into the kitchen, leaving Hermione confused and dazed outside.

It took her a second to work up the nerve to follow Draco into the kitchen. She wasn't entirely comfortable with the way her heart was beating madly or the way she was blushing deeply. When she did enter the house, he was gone.

He came home from work late that night; clearly he was as unsure as she was about their moment earlier in the day. He brought with him a few groceries that they needed (bread and milk), and some they didn't need (marshmallows). It was obvious he had been stalling in the grocery store. She wouldn't look at him, just threw together a salad and pasta. They ate in silence. It was strange for them, to be this awkward around each other. Usually, they made fun of each other in a way that they were both used to. Neither of them was used to this.

The next day was Sunday, which meant that O'Brien's Second-Hand Books was closed. Alice went to church every Sunday and believed that Sunday should be a day of rest. Which was perfectly fine with Draco. He used his Sundays to sleep in and bother Hermione.

But this particular Sunday, Hermione demanded that he help her with the house work.

"No." He said bluntly over his morning coffee. She was glowering at him with a counter full of dirty dishes next to her.

"You don't do anything to help around the house and I don't find it very fair." She exclaimed angrily.

"Not my problem. I work all day and you don't." He drawled. "Besides, you're the woman. _You _do the dishes."

She gasped in fury and stomped over to where he was sprawled across a kitchen chair.

"You _will _help me with the chores today." She hissed furiously. "And we're doing them the muggle way."

He debated arguing with her, but couldn't really be bothered. Her pregnancy hormones made her unusually emotional – her moods switching from rage to despair to ecstasy in seconds. He figured she would eventually get tired of dealing with him and let him go.

"Have it your way, Granger." He said, standing up so she was forced to back up. "But I'm not accustomed to doing chores – muggle or wizard – so you're going to have to teach me. It's going to be a hassle for you."

She just raised a slender eyebrow challengingly and Draco felt that odd swooping feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked away first.

"Fill the sink up with hot water." She commanded.

"Don't tell me what to do, Granger." He said back, but still put the plug in the drain and filled the sink up with hot, soapy water.

She started handing him pots and pans to wash.

"Luckily we have a dishwasher or there would be way more." She said.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

She pointed to a machine underneath the counter. "This is a dishwasher. You put the dishes in and some soap and turn it on and it washes the dishes for you."

"That's genius." Draco said, impressed with the muggle technology despite his pureblood upbringing.

She smirked at him, "I know. Who knew muggles could come up with something so useful?"

He scowled at her and went back to scrubbing dishes. She loaded the dishwasher and turned it on. She then dried the big dishes like the pots and pans and put them away.

"So I guess we're done." Draco said, planning on going down to the local pub. He craved a Firewhiskey, but knew he would have to make do with a muggle drink.

"Not quite." Hermione seemed amused by this whole thing. "Now we get to do laundry."

Draco bit back a groan. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

She definitely had a spring in her step at the idea of _Draco Malfoy _doing laundry the muggle way. Bringing her childhood tormentor down a notch always made her smile. She had never washed Draco's clothes, only her own. He used the _Scourgify _on his own. It worked but it never made your clothes as fresh as an actual washing did.

She threw all the clothes and towels and sheets into the washer and dumped a cup full of white powder in as well. She turned a knob and the machine whirred to life. Draco could see their clothes spinning amidst foamy water. Their clothes were being washed at the same time with the same soap and water. It didn't matter that he was a pureblood and she was muggleborn, their clothes tangled and moved together as equals.

She then had him sweep the floors, wash the windows, water the plants outside and even clean out Crookshanks' litter box. That one he vehemently protested to. But all she had to do was look up at him with dewy brown eyes and whisper that the fumes from the litter box could be harmful to the baby. He scowled, but reluctantly agreed.

When the house was sparkling clean and washing machine's cycle over, Hermione explained about drying the clothes.

"Usually, we can just use the drier to dry the clothes, but since it's so nice outside, we can just hang them on a line." She told him and gathered the damp clothes into a basket and carried them outside.

She instructed him to stretch a line of wire from one tree to another across the back yard. They then worked hanging the clothes over the line and pinning them there with a wooden clothes pin.

Draco was discovery new things about Hermione. Such as she hummed while she worked and talked to her cat as if he could understand her ("Malfoy cleaned out your kitty litter box, wasn't that generous of him, Crooks?") and always played music while she cooked. This domestic lifestyle made Draco uncomfortable and annoyed. It bothered him that he knew such inane details about Hermione, things that only people who were very close to her would know. He also resented doing muggle tasks that could be done much faster with a wand. But he found he didn't hate it as much as he thought he would.

They didn't finish their spring cleaning until evening had already fallen. Hermione said she didn't feel like cooking so she suggested they go out to eat. They walked down to Dingle in the evening light; fireflies lighting up the night and cicadas providing music. Hermione was panting after only taking a few steps on the uneven road and ended up leaning on Draco for support. Draco tried to tell himself that he hated her; hated touching her this way, but even he knew that that wasn't true.

They found a small, family owned restaurant and decided to eat there. It had dark green walls and dark, wooden tables. It had a pub-like feel to it, but with tables to eat a meal at. It was packed with couples and groups of friends, old men leaning against the bar and families with young children. Hermione and Draco were seated at a booth by a blonde waitress named Callie. She handed them each menus and promised to be back shortly.

As Hermione skimmed through the menu, Draco caught himself watching her. The golden light of the pub made her glow. Her hair was down and framing her heart-shaped face. There was a rosy glow dusting her usually pale cheeks and her pink lips were half-turned up in a smile. For some reason, she made his heart ache. He scowled; furious at himself for wasting those thoughts on _Granger. _He looked down at his menu and vowed never to look at her again.

Of course, that didn't last long. She seemed to forget that they were supposed to be enemies and spoke to him in the manner he had heard her speak to Potter or Weasley. He found himself chatting with her easily and even laughing at something she said at one point. There was an odd expression on her face as she watched him laugh, but as he looked closer, it was gone.

He had fish and chips and she had chicken stew. He floundered a bit when he was trying to order the muggle equivalent to butterbeer. Hermione seemed to sense this, and ordered him something called Guinness. Because of the baby, she only had water. Draco realized he was smiling at her without having to think about it, and wondered what was happening.

Their dinner ended and they decided to take a walk through Dingle to work off their dinner. The night had fallen and streetlights lit up the town. They walked side by side, hands swaying beside each other but not quite touching. They passed an ice cream parlour and Hermione had a sudden craving for cookie dough ice cream. Draco acquiesced to her request. The shop was full of excited children and loud teenagers. Draco ordered the first thing he saw, which was plain Strawberry. Hermione happily slurped on her ice cream cone on their way back home and Draco felt his resolve softening against her. He tried to bring up his old feelings of resentment and mockery towards her, but could feel only warmth. This worried him a little, but he tried to ignore it.

When they finally got home and up the stairs to their doorways of their own rooms, Hermione smiled at him and softly said, "Goodnight." She turned and went into her own room. Draco was left with the oddest feeling that he had just been on a date.

**A/N please please please review! Thanks so much! **


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N thank you so much for all the favourites and alerts! But it would be super sweet if i got some reviews! They make my life!**

With all the seeds planted, Hermione had to be content with wandering around the garden and watching her flowers grow. She would kneel down in the dirt, testing the soil with her fingers to see if it was moist enough. She watered the plants in the morning and then spread a quilt under an old oak tree in the afternoon. She read poetry and stories – both magical and muggle under the shade of a tree as old as her grandparents while the ivory clouds watched on. She flipped through her baby name book, absentmindedly considering if Grace or Jane sounded better.

It was at the end of June when she knew her baby was a girl. Don't ask her how she knew, she just did. It was the same kind of certainty as knowing the sky was blue or the grass was green. She was having a daughter.

She shared this fact with Draco over tea one evening. He was sitting in the over-stuffed red chair that was closest to the fire and she was sitting on the moss green love seat that had a black patch on one arm covering up an old tare, that was closer to the window.

"That's ridiculous." He said immediately. "Unless you're a Seer – and I know you're not, because you dropped out of your Divination class in third year – there is no possible way that you could know this."

"But I do." She insisted. "It's a girl."

He shook his head and sighed at the idiocy of his housemate.

She took a sip of her tea. It was very sweet, but that's way she liked it. She was very particular about her tea; she liked two tablespoons of milk, two teaspoons of sugar and four drops of honey. Draco was forever lamenting how she would rot her teeth out with all the sugar and how could she even stand to drink something so sickeningly sweet? She blamed the pregnancy, but truthfully she has always liked her tea that way.

She had her baby name book on her lap. She set down her tea and held up her heavily bookmarked guide. Draco groaned, knowing what she was going to say. One of Hermione's favourite past times (and Draco's pet peeves) was asking him his opinion on various baby names. She would read the origin, what the name means what the popularity of the name was and other useless things. Then she would decide she hated it and would move on. It was very annoying.

She leafed through the well-thumbed book until she got to the page marked with a purple post-it note.

"What do you think of the name Laura?" She asked with a frown of concentration on her face. He held in a smile. He couldn't help but find her hopelessly adorable when she was like this. He adored the line she got between her eyebrows when she was concentrating and the way she nibbled her lips when she was confused.

"It's alright." He said nonchalantly. "What about Beatrice?"

"Oh, I can't." She said immediately. "It's the name of the mother bird."

"What?" He said in disbelief.

"You know the Blue-Jays outside? I hung a birdhouse for them, remember? Anyway, the mother's name is Beatrice and the baby is Gregory." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"You – you named the birds?" He repeated. She nodded slowly. He burst out laughing. "You absolute fool! When did you become so loony? I can't believe anyone could be so bloody moronic!"

She threw a pillow at him while he roared with laughter.

"I had to! They couldn't just go around nameless!" She shouted in protest.

He was still smirking at her so she grumbled, "Oh shut up you great prat."

He chuckled again but said, "Okay so Beatrice is out. What about Violet? Or Lucy? Or Georgia? Or Annabelle? This really shouldn't be this difficult."

Hermione had a thoughtful expression on her face. "I like Annabelle." She said slowly. "And maybe... Lee for the middle name. Like the poem!"

"What poem?" He asked. He wasn't really interested in poetry, and this was probably a muggle poem.

"It's a poem by Edgar Allen Poe." Hermione said, riffling through the huge stack of books she had beside her, finally pulling out a worn, leather bound book the colour of the night sky. "He's a muggle poet."

Draco smirked. Of course he was.

Hermione flipped open the book and began reading in a clear, melancholy voice:

"_It was many and many a year ago,  
>In a kingdom by the sea,<br>That a maiden there lived whom you may know  
>By the name of Annabel Lee;<br>And this maiden she lived with no other thought  
>Than to love and be loved by me.<em>

_I was a child and she was a child,  
>In this kingdom by the sea;<br>But we loved with a love that was more than love-  
>I and my Annabel Lee;<br>With a love that the winged seraphs of heaven  
>Coveted her and me.<em>

_And this was the reason that, long ago,  
>In this kingdom by the sea,<br>A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling  
>My beautiful Annabel Lee;<br>So that her highborn kinsman came  
>And bore her away from me,<br>To shut her up in a sepulchre  
>In this kingdom by the sea.<em>

_The angels, not half so happy in heaven,  
>Went envying her and me-<br>Yes!- that was the reason (as all men know,  
>In this kingdom by the sea)<br>That the wind came out of the cloud by night,  
>Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.<em>

_But our love it was stronger by far than the love  
>Of those who were older than we-<br>Of many far wiser than we-  
>And neither the angels in heaven above,<br>Nor the demons down under the sea,  
>Can ever dissever my <em>_soul__from the soul  
>Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.<em>

_For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams  
>Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;<br>And the stars never rise but I feel the bright eyes  
>Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;<br>And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side  
>Of my darling- my darling- my life and my bride,<br>In the sepulchre there by the sea,  
>In her tomb by the sounding sea."<br>_

Hermione paused at the end, leaving Draco to say, "That was really pretty. And sad. But I'm not sure I understood some parts..."

She smiled patiently and said, "It's about these two people that had a love that was so strong, angels were jealous of them. The angels killed Annabel Lee and her family put her in a tomb by the sea where the man would lie beside it. Their love was strong enough that death could not break it, their souls were still connected. And even though they were young, they loved stronger than those older and wiser than them. But death separated them."

Hermione had tears in her eyes by the end of this explanation. Draco was comfortable. He wasn't quite sure what to say.

"So you like the name Annabel Lee?" He asked finally.

She sniffled once and then answered, "Yes, but not the way Poe spells it. I prefer Annabelle, with the extra 'l' and 'e'."

"Annabelle Lee Granger. Pretty." Draco said in an effort to cheer her up. It worked. The grief-stricken expression on her face vanished to be replaced by one of joy and excitement.

"Well I'm off to bed." She said, slowly rising to her feet. It seemed to Draco that she got bigger every day.

"Oh wait, Alice wants you to come visit her tomorrow." He said. "She lives in a flat above the shop and wants to have tea with you."

"Alright." Hermione agreed because it had been some time since he had been to town.

She woke up and watered her flowers as usual. They were now sprouting through the earth and just beginning to bloom. Hermione watched as Gregory the baby bird swooped around the garden, chirping with delight. Hermione had watched him learn to fly and was just as proud of him as his mother was.

She showered and put on a flower printed skirt that flowed just passed her knees and a white pregnancy shirt with an empire waist. She half-pinned her hair up and slipped on her 'wedding ring'. She usually didn't wear it, it made her uncomfortable to be wearing Draco's ring. But it was part of her disguise.

She left for Dingle mid-afternoon and was welcomed into the bookshop by Draco.

"You've got your ring on?" He asked her anxiously. She nodded and held up her left hand. "Remember you're Hattie Mason, alright? Don't give anything away."

"Me? I'm the sensible one; _you're _the one who'd most likely give something away!" She said indignantly.

"I would not! I was the one to come up with these names in the first place! You were the one who was too batty to even leave the house!" He snapped at her.

She gasped in outrage, "How dare you say that to me! You were the one-"

"Just get upstairs and pretend to be cheerful!" He exclaimed and stormed away.

She scowled at his back and stomped up the stairs to Alice's tiny flat. She knocked on the door and was instantly let in. The front door opened to a short hallway that led to a large open room that was both the kitchen and living room. There was a door on either side of the short hallway, and they were both slightly ajar. The one of the left was a coat closet and the door on the right was a bathroom.

Alice beamed at Hermione as she led her into the great room. It was painted a warm creamed colour with lots of comfortable looking furniture. Hermione could see lots of plants everywhere in the apartment and lots of windows that were open to the street. On the left wall was a door that probably led to Alice's bedroom.

"Would you like a spot of tea, dear?" Alice asked her.

"Yes, thank you." Hermione said.

"Sit down, Hattie. You must be exhausted from your walk over." Alice bustled up the kitchenette while Hermione sank into an armchair. The huge picture windows faced the busy street, but between two buildings, Hermione could see the ocean.

As Alice sat across from her and handed her a cup of tea in a delicate looking china cup. Hermione added what she liked in it from a tray Alice brought over.

"Are you alright?" Alice asked, concerned. Hermione realized she must still be wearing the frown that the conversation with Draco gave her.

"Oh yes, I'm fine." She assured. "I just had an argument with..." She floundered a bit while she tried to remember his fake name. Blast it all, she _would _be the one to give their disguise away. She hated it when he was right. "Daniel! I had an argument with Daniel." She was pleased with herself for remembering his name.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that." Alice said, sounding sincere. "If you don't mind me asking, what about?"

"Er, nothing big. We argue all the time about nothing. It's just the way we are." Hermione said quickly. "We went to boarding school together, and we actually hated each other."

"You did?" Alice said, sounding surprised. "But you two are obviously so in love, how did you get passed the hatred?"

Hermione was surprised to hear Alice say that they were 'obviously' so in love, when she could barely stand him.

"We... just got to know each other after we graduated." Hermione lied. "We were sort of... forced together. Because of work. And we just... fell in love. But his family is very upper-class and mine aren't, so we faced some difficulties. And then when I found out I was pregnant, we decided to elope to Ireland."

"That is so romantic." Alice said, smiling like a young girl.

"Er, yes isn't it?" Hermione awkwardly agreed.

"My husband and I met when we were... oh I would have to say about six or seven and he was the most annoying boy I had ever met. He was my best friend but he drove me loony every day! He loved to tease me and joke around." Alice had a reminiscent smile on her face.

"And you married him?" Hermione prodded.

"Hmmm? Oh, yes." Alice said, getting distracted by the memories. "We were sixteen when I realized I was in love with him. I told him, and to my surprise he had loved me since we were children; he was just too shy to say anything. We were married four years later. I know we were young, but we were ready. We saw no point in waiting when we knew we were going to spend the rest of our lives together."

Hermione didn't have to look around the room to see that Alice's husband wasn't there.

"He died three years ago. From a hurricane, we were visiting my sister up North at the time. But that isn't true. There was no hurricane that day. And yet... the streets were destroyed and trees were knocked over and houses were ripped out of the ground. It seemed like a hurricane, but... it wasn't. And I don't even know why I think that, but it didn't feel like a hurricane. It was the middle of the night when it happened and the authorities said it was a hurricane, but it couldn't have been. The sound of the wind and the rain was missing." Alice was frowning, deep in thought and grief. She didn't notice Hermione pale or the fearful expression on her face. Alice was right; it wasn't a hurricane that killed her husband. It was giants.

Hermione had never felt so ashamed of being a witch. It was _her _war that had killed a good friend's husband.

"My sister's house was smashed in. I didn't know what else to do but come back to Dingle and continue running the bookshop. I've tried to run it alone, but it's difficult. And as I'm getting older, I get tired easier so I decided to hire some help. And that's when I met your husband. Dan is a great help to me, and is very hard-working."Alice said.

"Yes he is." Hermione murmured. The two women sipped their tea in silence for a few minutes before Alice jumped up.

"Oh Hattie I just remembered! I have some things for you, for the baby!" Alice exclaimed and hurried over to the hall closet. She pulled out a stroller, a book and several knitted things. Hermione was stunned.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped. "Thank you Alice, but you really didn't have to do this!"

"No, I wanted to." Alice said. "I was never able to conceive a child, so I'm excited for you."

Hermione's heart twinged a little at that. She always felt sympathy for women who couldn't conceive.

Alice showed her all the gifts she had bought for Hermione. Alice also gave Hermione the classic pregnancy book, _What to Expect When You're Expecting _and several knitted things in yellow, green and white because the sex of the baby wasn't officially known. Hermione ran her finger over the soft yellow cardigan and matching hat and the pale green jumper with a fuzzy lamb sewn on it and the warm white socks. Alice smiled as she gave Hermione a cream coloured cashmere blanket that had teddy-bears all along the edge of it. The blanket was thick and soft and Hermione couldn't help gasping in delight over it.

"Oh, Alice thank you!" She gushed. "It's so beautiful! I can't believe you really made all of this! You have been so kind to both and Dan and I – I'm not sure how I'll ever repay you!"

"Oh think nothing of it. It's been a pleasure having young people to talk to." Alice said warmly, looking pleased at Hermione's reaction to her gifts. "Have you decided on names yet?"

"Yes." Hermione said with certainty, running a hand over her stomach. "I – _we _– have decided on the name Annabelle. With Lee as the middle name."

"Oh like the poem!" Alice said.

"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed. "Exactly like that! Draco didn't understand at first, so I had to read the poem to him, but he likes it!"

"And for a boy?" Alice inquired.

"It's a girl." Hermione said firmly.

"Oh you asked the doctor the gender?" Alice said.

"No, I can just tell." Hermione said. "It's a girl."

The two women gushed over the baby things and other light things for the rest of the afternoon until Draco closed the shop and took Hermione home. Hermione couldn't help but feel for the woman who had lost everything but still ran a business and had a life. Alice lost her love to the wizarding war as well but instead of losing control for half a year, she continued running her business and carried on with her life. Hermione understood Alice's excitement about her baby, because she was never able to have one of her own.

Draco had carried the stroller, baby clothes and blanket home and still allowed Hermione to lean on his arm. He brought everything into the third bedroom on the right side wall of the house.

"Since you are _so sure _it's a girl, do you want any help decorating it?" He said, half mocking.

She raised her eyebrows and smirked at him. He rolled his eyes. Suddenly, she paused. When did she get to the point of knowing him well enough to communicate without words?

He charmed the walls pink with white horses galloping along the top. He transfigured the double bed into a white crib with pink bedding. He also transfigured the dresser into a change table. After a few more magical changes, the room was perfectly fit for a baby girl. The bureau was now white with pink detailing and the curtains were white lace. The crib was on the back wall and the change table was on the right. The bureau was on the left. Draco also transfigured some other things in the room to make toys such as a doll house and a white rocking horse. He also transfigured a stool into a rocking chair with a pink cushion on the seat. Hermione laid the gorgeous blanket Alice had made in the crib and hung up the clothes in the bureau. She left the stroller by the door. She could imagine having her beautiful baby girl in it under the shady oak tree while she worked in the garden.

She smiled and for the first time, was actually excited to have a baby.

**A/N thanks so much for reading along with this! Im so sorry this was late, but i was at my cottage and we don't have any internet there. I also left my power chord there so my computer is going to die and i wont be able to save it. My friend has the same computer so i might be able to borrow hers, but if i cant i will definitely update by next Sunday night. Possibly Monday. Ugh sorry for this super long explanation, i'll go now. Pretty please review! **


	10. Chapter 10

Draco could see a noticeable change in Hermione. She was much more cheerful and energetic, but also kind of loopy (remember her naming Gregory and Beatrice?). But of course, she did have her darker moments as well. She would lock herself in her room and just cry her eyes out for no apparent reason. Draco couldn't be sure if that was because of the pregnancy or the depression she was working herself out of. Every so often she would just sit in a chair and stare out the window. On those days, not even her flowers could cheer her up.

But generally, she was much better. She was now at a healthy weight and all the time spent outdoors in the garden gave her face a glowing complexion and made her eyes shine. She was even kind towards Draco. Though they hadn't yet advanced to using their first names and she had the tendency to snap at him, she treated him like a friend.

Draco often thought bitterly that she was still not quite there mentally and wasn't quite sure who he was. But even though she often got distracted and was emotional and moody, she did think of him as a friend. Perhaps it was because there was no one else to talk to, or perhaps it was because she was spaced-out. But mostly it was because she had a growing fondness for him, and he for her.

It was a warm Sunday morning in mid-July when Draco heard a shrill cry from the kitchen. He bolted from his bed and raced down the stairs to find Hermione clutching her stomach and staring in horror at a puddle of water on the floor beneath her.

"My water broke." She said unnecessarily.

Draco's heart stopped. He too was terrified. It was one thing to talk about baby names and decorate the room, but it was quite another to actually have a baby. All this time, it never clued in for Draco that there would be an actual baby in the house. He thought in shock and fear that _he _would have to be the one to take Hermione to the hospital. He couldn't just hide upstairs and wait for this horrible in-between stage to be over, he actually had to be there.

"Um, do you have to go to the hospital now?" Draco asked uncertainly. He really had no idea how this all worked. He had never read any of the pregnancy books that Hermione had lying around, and belatedly, he wished he did. He knew the general idea of labour, but he was fuzzy on the details.

Hermione seemed to be steeling her nerves. She took a breath and said, "No. I don't have to go until my contractions have five to seven minutes between them."

Just as she said that, she flinched and cried out, bending somewhat around her swollen belly.

Draco was on the borderline of full-fledge panic. Fighting to the death he could handle. The birthing process? No, not really.

"Er... are you okay?" He asked when the contraction was done. He wasn't quite sure what else to do. Give her a high-five? Massage her stomach?

"Fine." She gasped.

He stood awkwardly at the edge of the kitchen in his green pajama pants and grey t-shirt as Hermione righted herself and started to make tea. She was wrapped up in a fuzzy pink bathrobe, her bulging stomach poking out. Her hair was down and tucked behind her ears. She looked calm enough. As the water was boiling, Hermione wiped the floor and changed her clothes. She came back down stairs in a blue skirt and a white blouse. She smiled at Draco and poured the water into a kettle. He was still too stunned to move.

When his heart rate slowed, he had a shower and got dressed as well. He wore a long sleeved t-shirt as usual, to hide the Dark Mark. Even though the muggles wouldn't know what it meant, it would still make them scared and uncomfortable. Besides the fact that he hated it and was ashamed that he had ever been a part of Voldemort's ranks. He was ashamed of who he used to be.

He looked in the mirror and noticed for the first time Hermione wasn't the only one who had changed. His hair was a darker blonde from being in the sun and he had a faint tan on his pale face. His hair was also slightly longer; hanging just below his ears and more relaxed than it had ever looked without the use of gel. But what was the most noticeable difference was the expression on his face. He was content; even happy with this life. He was happy being Daniel Mason.

Another sharp yell from the kitchen had him hurrying to Hermione.

"Is it time yet?" He asked anxiously.

"Not – not yet." She panted.

He frowned but she straightened up and smiled faintly at him. "I'm going to go water the flowers." She said calmly.

He stood in the doorway of the kitchen door and watched as she made her way through the plants growing wildly around her. The scent of the flowers was heavy in the air, but not overpowering. The flowers were bright and vivid and seemed vastly out of place in the barren Irish countryside. Hermione stooped to water her Dahlias and Draco smirked as she looked up with a smile as one of her birds flew around her head.

The garden really had everything. It was vaguely square shaped with sunflowers growing tall and imposing in the middle. Around them were marigolds, chrysanthemums, black eyed Susan's, tiger lilies, hydrangeas, roses, tulips, daisies, and so many others Draco couldn't name.

He wandered back into the house and towards the living room, in the front. He settled in to his favourite chair with a hot mug of tea and _Quidditch Through the Ages. _He liked his tea black, he didn't know why Hermione had to add so many other things to it. The window was open and a warm breeze was blowing in gently. Draco could see the town and beyond that, the ocean. He could smell the sea water and the sweet scent of Hermione's flowers drifting over from the back garden. He could hear the wind in the trees and the buzz of bees and the crash of the waves and the call of a bird. He yawned lazily and let his eyes drift shut.

He was awoken by an anguished shriek coming from the kitchen. He blearily got up to check on her. The sun had shifted in the sky and the light was very different. Draco knew he had been asleep a long time.

Hermione was clutching her stomach and gasping for breath. Draco never noticed how very _pregnant _she was. He had never really looked at her stomach or how very huge it was. He had never thought about before that there actually was a baby inside of it and it would be coming out in a few hours.

"Uh, Granger?" Draco said awkwardly.

"Not. Yet." She said through gritted teeth. "Now what do you want for lunch?"

"Whatever you're having," He was quick to say.

As the afternoon wore on, Draco kept looking at Hermione anxiously, wondering why she didn't just go to the hospital. Isn't that what women usually did when their water broke? And hers broke more than five hours previous.

When her contractions started coming more and more frequently, Draco suggested that she go to the hospital. But before he could even finish asking his question, she was refusing loudly. When the sun started to set, Hermione had another contraction so severe she dropped her mug of tea. She cursed and tried to get down to clean it up, but her enlarged belly was stopping her.

Draco looked at the clock. "Um, I don't mean to nag," He started slowly. "But your last contraction was six minutes ago, isn't now an excellent time to get to the hospital?"

"No!" She protested so loudly and vehemently that Draco jerked in surprise. "I-I can't." She said more quietly.

"Why not?" He asked in exasperation.

"I can't do it without Ron." She whispered. Draco was startled to see tears forming in her eyes.

"I can't do this! What if I do something wrong? What if the baby gets hurt somehow? What if I'm a terrible mother? I need Ron here! It's his baby! I can't do this without him! I need him." Hermione was nearly hyperventilating with panic. Her eyes were wide and tears were slipping down her cheeks.

"I know you can do this." Draco said sincerely. "I know you'll be a great mom."

"No! No, I can't! I-"

"Hermione!" Draco cut her off and she looked up in surprise. He had never called her by her first name before. "We're going to the hospital now. You will be fine. You will be a great mother. You'll probably be a little bossy and always pushing reading, but great."

She smiled nervously and hugged her stomach. "Thanks... Draco."

He held out his arm for her to take. They couldn't walk all the way to St. Elizabeth's hospital while Hermione was going into labour and they didn't have any other means of transportation. They Disapparated to the side of the hospital. Draco led her inside and brought her to a front desk.

"My wife is in labour and needs a doctor." He said urgently. The nurse brought out a wheelchair and led Hermione and him to a room one floor up. Draco was intrigued by the elevator, but knew it wasn't the time to ask questions.

Hermione had another contraction that rocked her body as the doctor was helping her onto the bed. When they started pulling off Hermione's clothes, Draco quickly exited the room.

"Aren't you going to stay?" A nurse asked in surprise. Draco resented the judgemental look in her eyes and scowled at her.

"No." He said haughtily.

He made his way back out to the waiting room and sat in a hard wooden chair. The waiting room for the maternity floor was just down the hall from Hermione's room. He could hear her shrieks and moans of pain from where he was sitting. It was making him oddly freaked out. He decided to call Alice to tell her he probably wouldn't be going to work the next day.

There was a pay phone in the waiting room and he called the number he had practiced with Hermione. She was teaching him how to use a phone a few days back and he had practiced on Alice. She didn't know of course that it was his first time using a telephone, she just thought he had called to say hello. He remembered the feeling of pride and excitement when he hung up the phone. He was filled with curiosity and wonder that muggles could invent something to carry their voices long distances. Hermione had laughed in delight.

He thankfully remembered the number and Alice picked up on the second ring.

"Hello?" She said politely.

"Hi Alice it's Daniel." He said back.

"Oh hello Dan, how's Hattie doing?" Alice inquired pleasantly.

"That's actually why I'm calling." He replied. "We're at the hospital, she's gone into labour. I just wanted to tell you that I probably won't be in tomorrow."

Alice gasped and quickly said, "Oh my! Take the whole week off, Dan! Call me as soon as you get the chance, I will want to know how Hattie and the baby are doing! God bless you all!"

Draco smirked. He got a whole week off to do nothing. He was for sure not helping with the baby, since it wasn't even his so he just planned on relaxing. "Of course Alice. I'll talk to you later."

His delight at his vacation was slightly diminished when Hermione screamed louder than ever. He frowned and wondered if he should check in on her. He thought about it, and then decided not to. That was nothing he wanted to see. Hours and hours passed. Draco filled his time with bad instant coffee and years old magazines. He jumped up every time a nurse came in, just in case it had to do with Hermione and had a constant frown on his face. He managed to nap a bit, but never more than half an hour at a time. At long last, a tired looking nurse came into the waiting room and said, "Is Daniel Mason here?"

"Yes, yes that's me." Draco said eagerly and left the waiting room full of expectant family members. He was led down the hall back into Hermione's sunshine yellow room. The curtains were open to reveal a brilliant sunrise. Hermione was in a pea green hospital gown and someone had tied her hair up in a sloppy bun. A few curls were stuck to the side of her face with sweat and her eyes were exhausted but joyful. It was only then that Draco noticed the little bundle in her arms.

"Oh!" He said in surprise. He was in shock that she was actually a mother now. And, judging by the fuzzy pink blanket the baby was wrapped in, to a baby girl. He could admit that he was slightly wary of Hermione's certainty that she was having a girl. He was afraid that she would have a boy and be disappointed. But she was right. Draco smirked. There would be no living with her now.

The nurses and doctor all seemed to be sharing amused looks.

"Would you like to hold your daughter?" The doctor asked. She was a kindly looking woman with ash blonde hair tied up in a loose knot and glasses that slipped down her nose.

Draco first glanced at Hermione to ask her permission. To his surprise, she nodded yes. He moved over to the bed and she gently handed him her daughter.

The baby was soft and pink and had long dark lashes and a little button nose. She made adorable snuffling sounds and her miniature fingers moved of their own accord. Draco had never seen anything so small or beautiful. He could feel tears misting his eyes and felt a tickle in the back of his throat. He cleared his throat before he could do something embarrassing like cry, and the little girl opened her eyes at the sound. She looked up at him with curiously intelligent eyes. Draco was not surprised to see that they were the bright, crystal blue of her father's. She blinked at him and Draco was filled with wonder that anything could be this tiny.

"Her name's Annabelle." Hermione said with an uncharacteristic smirk on her face. "Annabelle Lee."

Draco gave her a dry look in return and before he could say something snarky back, the doctor interrupted.

"And how do you spell that?" She asked, a pen poised over the birth certificate.

As Hermione was spelling out the name, Draco could see that she had written down their fake names as the parents and had written Annabelle's last name as Mason. Draco felt that Hermione's daughter should have a real birth certificate with her real name and real parents' names. So before he could think too hard about what he was doing, he Confunded the doctor.

Thankfully, all the nurses had left the room.

"Draco!" Hermione said in shock. She was now holding her daughter and stroking her fuzzy head, but paused when Draco enchanted the doctor.

"Change her name to Annabelle Lee Granger." He instructed. The doctor was loopy enough to comply. Muggles were so easy to Confund. "And change the parents' names to Hermione Jean Granger and Ronald..."

He hesitated there, he didn't know Ron's middle name.

"Bilius." Hermione quietly supplied.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley." Draco finished. The doctor did as she was told, and before the charm could wear off; Draco took the birth certificate from her and sent her on her way.

Hermione smiled and patted the spot beside her. Draco was startled and gingerly sat down by her knees. Hermione was staring adoringly at her baby daughter and glanced up with warmth in her eyes at Draco as the morning sun lit up her face.


	11. Chapter 11

Hermione woke up to the sound of cars rushing by. She was unused to this noise; at Shell Cottage all you could hear was the waves and their little stone cabin it was too far from the town to hear anything. It was 5:13 am said the digital clock beside her bed. She yawned and decided there was no point going back to sleep when the sun would be rising in a half hour or so. It was her second day in St. Elizabeth's Hospital. Yesterday morning at 6:03 in the morning, her daughter was born. Hermione smiled. She had been a mom for a whole day.

She spent the day in the hospital, learning the ways of motherhood. A nurse had shown her how to nurse her baby. During that time, Draco was instructed by Hermione to go on a shopping spree for a few extra things they needed like diapers. They had gone a few days ago to buy onesies and other baby clothing staples. They also picked up some bottles and baby food. Hermione was satisfied that their house baby ready, as well as proof.

Currently, Annabelle was asleep in the nursery with the other newborns. They would be leaving the hospital to go home around noon later that day. Hermione was nervous to be on her own with a baby, but she had confidence that she could do it. Draco was at home and would be arriving at the hospital in a few hours. He didn't spend the night with her and she didn't expect him to.

She dozed on and off for a few more hours. But mostly she watched the lights of the cars driving past on the road. It had been so long since she'd seen city lights at night.

Draco walked in at half past nine, long after he said he would be there. But at least he brought tea with him.

Hermione took a tentative sip and was surprised but grateful that he remembered how she liked it.

"I brought the stroller." He said. "They made me leave it with the nurse at the front desk."

"That's great; we need a way to take Annabelle home." Hermione said, frowning in concentration. "I don't want to Disapparate with her. I don't know how damaging that could be to an infant."

Draco nodded mock seriously, "Yeah that's right, Granger. Who knows what could happen? She could be flattened like a pink pancake!"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't make jokes about flattening my daughter." Hermione said haughtily.

"You're right. Pancake jokes are never funny." Draco said, smirking.

"Oh shut up you prat." Hermione said grumpily. Draco could see her lips itching up in a smile and her eyes were not nearly as angry as she pretended to be.

He calmly took a sip of his tea and smirked at her. She was avoiding looking at him, but Draco could see a grin blooming on her face. She looked up and was about to say something, when a nurse walked in.

"Good morning Mr and Mrs Mason." She said pleasantly. "Just a few more tests and you'll be ready to go, madam."

"How's Annabelle?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"She's fine." The nurse replied soothingly. "She doesn't have any mental or physical disabilities and is very healthy. She'll be ready to go this afternoon."

Hermione smiled. She was patient while the nurse took her temperature and gave her a shot. She smiled while Draco was scowling with impatience. He lounged on a chair by the window as Hermione sat up in her bed still wearing her hideous green hospital smock. Her hair was loose, but tucked behind her ears. She was pale, but not gaunt the way she was when she first moved to Ireland.

When the clock struck noon, Hermione was allowed to leave. She quickly changed into the gauzy blue skirt and white blouse that she was wearing when she arrived. Draco brought up the stroller and Annabelle was brought in by a nurse. Hermione's eyes lit up when she saw her daughter again. Hermione changed her diaper for the first time and dressed her in a pale purple onesie that Draco brought with him. She wrapped her up in the blanket Alice gave them and put a purple bonnet on her head.

"Oh she's so sweet." Hermione murmured happily, staring warmly at her daughter.

"Adorable." Draco drawled. "Can we go now?"

Hermione glared at him and gently set her baby girl into the stroller. They walked out of the hospital and out onto the street. Hermione was convinced that she was perfectly fine, thank you very much and didn't Draco's help one bit. But their house was on the other side of Dingle and within twenty minutes, Draco was pushing the stroller and Hermione was leaning heavily on his arm. They kept getting '_aww how sweet' _looks from passerby's which Draco would return with a scowl.

When they finally returned home, Hermione carefully picked up her daughter and carried her off to her nursery. Draco stashed the stroller in the front hall closet and went to go make lunch.

He heard shrill crying coming from the nursery and swore under his breath. He did not want to have to get used to this. He hated the sound of children crying. And he had heard a fair share of that working for the Dark Lord. He grit his teeth and wished Hermione would calm the child down.

Hermione was pacing back and forth, gently rocking Annabelle in her arms. Her little girl's face was scrunched up from angry tears. Hermione tried desperately to calm her down. She checked her diaper to see it was still clean and finally decided she must be hungry. She sat down in the rocking chair and unbuttoned her shirt. She gently attached Annabelle to her right breast just as Draco walked into the room.

He screeched in shock and turned his face away. "What the bloody hell, Hermione?" He yelled angrily.

He had a hot blush on his face and stared in the opposite direction.

"I-I'm just nursing her!" She squeaked in surprise. "You're the one who barged in!"

"You left the door open!" He protested.

"It was half closed." She pointed out. "Now, is there a particular reason you're here?"

He scowled out the window, since he refused to look at her and growled, "Lunch is ready."

"Thank you." She said primly. "I'll be down shortly."

She finished up and thankfully, Annabelle was feeling sleepy so Hermione laid her down in her crib. She flicked off the lights as she left the room and smiled dotingly at her sleeping daughter.

She slowly made her way downstairs. She was humiliated to be caught like this by _Draco Malfoy _of all people. She decided to play it cool and not overreact.

"Hello Draco." She said coolly.

He nodded in greeting. "Hermione."

She took a plate and sat down across from him. He was suddenly very busy with his mug of tea and didn't look up. She ate her sandwich and went to check on her flowers. They were still in full bloom and smelled lovely. She inhaled the sweet scent of the garden and instantly felt calmer. She spent the rest of the afternoon in the back yard and went to bed with dirt under her fingernails and the smell of roses on her skin.

She was jarred awake in the middle of the night by a high-pitched wailing. She blearily flicked on her lamp and stumbled sleepily to the nursery. Annabelle was screaming and thrashing in her crib and Hermione felt like crying just listening to it.

"Shh, baby." Hermione mumbled. "I'm here."

She held her darling daughter against her chest and sat down in the maple rocking chair. She slowly rocked back and forth, humming under her breath until Annabelle drifted back to sleep. Hermione was too tired to get up and she liked feeling the warmth of her baby against her, so she stayed in the chair. Hermione was sleepy, but was still delighted with looking at the details of her daughter's face.

Annabelle had a fluff of auburn hair on her head. Her eyes were the Windex blue of her father's and she was long and skinny like he was. She had a smattering of freckles (like her daddy) across her button nose that was more like Hermione's than Ron's. She had Hermione's heart shaped face and rosebud lips, but Ron's wavy hair.

Hermione kissed her gently on the forehead and felt herself succumb to sleep, still clutching her baby girl.

The next morning, Draco walked passed Annabelle's half opened door to see Hermione and Annabelle wrapped up under Alice's cashmere blanket on the rocking chair. He caught himself smiling and thinking how good they looked together. Draco had never thought about Hermione Granger, bookworm extraordinaire, as a mother but seeing her with Annabelle made him realize she was meant for this.

**A/N i hope everyone likes it so far! It would be super cool if you reviewed! Have a nice day! **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N i just wanted to say im so so sorry for a mistake i accidently wrote in the first chapter. I put that Bellatrix Lestrange had killed Neville's parents when they were actually in St Mungo's hospital for insanity. Sorry for the typo and thanks for Missa for pointing it out. I don't own HP and i hope you enjoy! **

Draco liked Annabelle. He did, really. But he didn't like being woken up in the middle of the night or having to listen to her cry or smelling her diaper or hearing Hermione's motherly worries. Having a baby in the house definitely caused more tension between Hermione and himself. And not the good kind either.

She was exhausted from essentially being a single parent and waking up at all hours of the day and night, so her temper was running a bit high. And whenever she snapped at Draco, he would obviously snap back until they were screaming at each other from each end of the kitchen about what was for dinner.

He started drinking coffee. He hated coffee, absolutely detested it. He always swore he would stay a tea-man forever, but a newborn baby that screamed like crazy grated on his nerves and he found he needed the caffeinated drink to soothe his frazzled mind.

Annabelle was a sweet kid – a little loud maybe, but sweet. She was curious about everything around her and she held Draco's thumb for the first time yesterday. Draco tried to hide it, but he could feel his eyes mist up. Annabelle was adorable, but entirely too much like her parents for Draco's liking. She was bound to be as annoying as her father and as self-righteous as her mother. But despite all that, Draco was fond of her. She was alright. For Granger and Weasley's child.

When Annabelle was one month old, Hermione decided it was time for her to visit Alice. Hermione had been hesitant to take her off the property and out of the Fidelius Charm, but Alice had been asking about her and the baby so she decided it was time.

"Perhaps she's too young." Hermione worried as she and Draco packed a baby bag.

"She isn't too young." Draco said, absolutely exasperated.

Hermione bit her lip and glanced down at her snoozing daughter. "She's only one month old. Maybe we shouldn't go."

"But you already committed to it," Draco pointed out. "Are you going to back out now?"

"No..." Hermione said slowly. "No, I shouldn't."

"Alright then let's _go _already." Draco said, pushing open the door. It took twenty minutes at the front door for Hermione to decide if she was actually going on not. She was driving Draco mental.

Hermione was pushing the baby carriage and Draco had the baby bag slung over his shoulder. Hermione kept frowning and peering into the pram anxiously. Annabelle was in a yellow sundress with a white flower on it and a white bonnet. Hermione had her bundled up in a cardigan and a blanket as if worried she would catch a cold in August.

Draco helped Hermione bring the pram over the step and left it in a back room of the shop. Annabelle was tucked in her mother's arms as Hermione made her way up the steep stairs to Alice's flat.

She knocked once and waited for the door to open. The hallway before the door was tight and small and Draco and Hermione were practically pressed against each other with only Annabelle as a buffer between them. They waited uncomfortably for a moment while Alice unlocked her door and let them in.

Alice gasped in delight as soon as she laid eyes on Annabelle. Draco could see Hermione looking smug in a proud mother kind of way and rolled his eyes.

"May I hold her?" Alice asked breathlessly.

"Of course!" Hermione carefully handed her baby to Alice.

Hermione sat down in a slightly lumpy armchair and watched with a content smile on her face as Alice gently held Annabelle and cooed softly to her. Draco sat on the couch nearest to Hermione and glanced at her hand. She was wearing the ring again. She was quite good at remembering their disguises. He couldn't help but admire how perfect the Claddagh ring fit on her finger. Like it was meant to be there.

She tucked a stray curl behind her eyes and didn't move her eyes from where Alice was dancing around the kitchen bouncing Annabelle in her arms. Draco watched as the baby smiled and reached out a tiny hand to touch Alice's cheek. The expression in Alice's eyes made even Draco smile.

"Hattie, will you help me in the kitchen? I have some refreshments I had prepared, but I could use a hand getting them ready." Alice asked.

"Of course, Alice," Hermione said smiling. Alice handed Annabelle off to Draco which made him silently panic. Hermione didn't seem worried that he was holding her daughter, so he tried to calm down.

He stood up and walked over to the window. He wasn't sure how to hold her properly and tried the best he could. In the kitchen, Alice was pouring tea into mugs and Hermione was cutting up banana bread and putting in on a plate.

Annabelle started to fuss and wiggle in Draco's arms so he shifted his hold on her, trying to keep her calm and happy.

A breeze blew through the open window and Annabelle blinked in wonder as the warm sea air caressed her face. She reached up one chubby fist as if to grab the wind. Draco smiled warmly.

"Sorry, Belle," He said chuckling. "You can't hold the wind."

"What an adorable nickname." Alice said from behind him. Draco turned to see her holding a tray with tea and food on it and Hermione standing slightly behind her. Draco was surprised to see such warmth and affection in her eyes as she gazed at him holding her baby.

The rest of the afternoon passed in pleasant discussion and delicious snacks. Belle, as Draco called her, was handed around the three of them for everyone wanted to hold and cuddle her. When the baby fell asleep and Hermione's eyes drooped, Draco suggested that they go.

"Thanks for having us, Alice," He said at the doorway. "You're very kind."

She waved the compliment away and gave them each a hug goodbye before making them promise to visit with Annabelle again soon.

Hermione seemed tired on the walk home so Draco ended up pushing the stroller and carrying the baby bag. Hermione trailed along after him, yawning every so often.

"When I get home I'm going to put Annabelle to bed and relax with a good book." She said as he opened the door for her.

They had just put away the stroller and Hermione was headed upstairs with a sleepy Belle in her arms, when there was a sharp knock on the door. Draco knew who it was. He sighed and opened the door to see Potter, Ginny, Mrs Weasley and Fleur Delacour standing on the other side. He could almost feel Hermione's exhaustion in the air and resented the company coming that kept her up.

They pushed through the door and engulfed Hermione in tight hugs. They cooed over the baby and the women bustled into the kitchen, loudly making tea and opening cupboards.

"I need to talk to you," Harry said urgently to Hermione. "In private."

Draco rolled his eyes and cautiously made his way into the kitchen as Hermione led Harry up to her room.

He watched the three women bustle around the kitchen, making him wary of entering. Mrs Weasley was at the counter with her flyaway red hair and knit sweater that barely covered a body that was round from rich food. She smiled dotingly at Fleur Delacour who held Belle. Fleur was easily the most beautiful woman Draco had ever seen with her waist length white-gold hair and midnight blue eyes. She was perfection, but she was a cold beauty in comparison to Hermione's warmth. Hermione's petite figure, messy mahogany curls and laughing brown eyes were much more pleasing to Draco than a woman who seemed too otherworldly and ethereal to be real. Ginny was at the kitchen table, leaning over a black bag making her thick red hair fall over her sun-tanned face and dark brown eyes.

Mrs Weasley was unpacking a freezer bag full of casseroles and Ginny was pulling toy after toy for Annabelle out of a bag while Fleur held the baby and gushed over the pretty presents.

As he walked into the kitchen, every eye turned to face him.

"So what are you lot doing here?" He asked, only half trying to be rude.

"We wanted to see Hermione's baby." Ginny snapped. "And Harry wanted to talk to Hermione."

"We worry so much about her being stuck way out here all alone." Mrs Weasley said compassionately. Draco didn't miss the little dig about Hermione being alone.

"She isn't alone." He growled. "I'm with her."

"But do you really care about 'er?" Fleur asked with a wicked gleam in her eye.

Draco stumbled for something to say, "I-I care..." He muttered.

The women all glanced at each other with smirks and raised eyebrows, making Draco scowl.

"So what about the rest of the Order?" Draco asked. "Why aren't they here bothering us?"

The women looked at each other, but there was no gentle teasing in their eyes. They all looked anxious and worried.

"There has been another raid." Ginny finally said. "They attacked Kingsley Shacklebolt's house. He's fine, but there was a huge battle. Both sides lost a lot of people. We lost... Dean Thomas and Dedalus Diggle and Cho Chang. But the Death Eaters lost people too. Like... like your father."

Draco expected to feel shocked or sorry or devastated. But he wasn't. He remembered the expression in his mother's eyes as he tortured her. How she had cried and begged him to stop. How he laughed and she screamed one last time. How he killed her.

"Good." Draco spat out savagely. Everyone was shocked but didn't comment.

"We made you some meals." Mrs Weasley said in a softer voice. "We thought you might not have time to cook proper dinners with a baby in the house."

"Thank you." Draco said stiffly.

"We also brought presents for the baby!" Fleur exclaimed. "She's magnifiqué! What is 'her name, Draco?"

"Annabelle Lee." He said. "She was born on July sixteenth and she's seven pounds and six ounces."

"She's beautiful." Mrs Weasley said gently, taking her off of Fleur to cuddle her herself.

"I am so glad I came!" Fleur said happily. "I only decided to come because Bill is on a mission and I can't stand to wait at 'ome for him. And I wanted to see 'Ermione's petite bébé!"

Annabelle was passed around the room so the each got a chance to hold her. Mrs Weasley made stew for them and Draco played with Belle with Ginny and Fleur. Ginny brought out a teddy-bear she brought and pretended to talk for him. Fleur was doing the same with a stuffed hippogriff much to the amusement of Belle. Draco held her in his lap as she watched with wide eyes the dancing teddy-bear and French hippogriff.

"I would so love a baby girl," Fleur murmured wistfully, watching Belle stare in wonder at the Hippogriff. "But Bill wants to wait until after the war is over to 'ave children."

Ginny made a sympathetic half-smile and patted Fleur's hand. "Harry is the same. He says he couldn't bear to bring a child into this world knowing how dangerous and chaotic it is."

Draco looked back and forth from one woman to the other. They were so different. Different in every way from their looks to their personality. But this was one thing they had in common; they both wanted children but couldn't have any, just like Alice. Draco realized for the first time that Hermione was actually very blessed to have daughter.

Upstairs, Hermione and Harry were sitting in her room. Harry was pacing back and forth and Hermione was sitting at the edge of her bed.

"We found it, Hermione." Harry said anxiously. "We found another Horcrux!"

"Where?"

"It was in Gringott's, in Bellatrix's vault." Harry said feverishly, still pacing the floor. "It was the Hufflepuff Cup. Griphook the Goblin helped us sneak in and we stabbed it with the Gryffindor Sword. Griphook took it from us and disappeared, but we got another one! Only three left now!"

"Oh Merlin Harry!" Hermione said, entirely stunned. "That's incredible!"

"I know." Harry nodded. "It was difficult, we had to use Polyjuice Potion and my Invisibility Cloak and we escaped on a dragon and then Disapparated back to Shell Cottage. We were all a bit burned from the protective enchantments, but it's another one down."

"Now the next one will be something of Ravenclaw's." Hermione said thoughtfully. "But I can't think of what the other two would be."

Harry frowned and said, "Neville, Gin and I have been going in circles thinking about it. We just can't think of what they could be."

They were both quiet for a moment and then Harry said, "Well that's all I wanted to tell you. We should go back downstairs now. I used the visit as a chance to tell you about the Horcrux, but I want to see your daughter as well!"

Hermione nodded then smiled. "Her name's Annabelle. She's the sweetest, cutest most intelligent baby I have ever met!"

Harry smiled warmly at his friend, "And how's Malfoy with her? Is he being a total arse?"

"No," Hermione said, smiling. "He's actually quite good with her. I know he adores her, but he just pretends he doesn't to seem tough. He's... changed a lot since we came here. Sometimes it's like he's a different person. But then he says something arrogant and I know he's just the same!" Hermione laughed and brushed a strand of hair away from her face with her left hand.

Harry grabbed her hand and pulled it closer to him. "What's this?" He asked sharply about the shinging gold ring on her fourth finger.

"Ah," Hermione said guiltily. "It's part of our disguise. It was something to tell Draco's employer at the bookshop. We told her our names were Harriet and Daniel Mason and we had eloped to Ireland to get away from his controlling family."

Hermione lowered her eyes and continued, "We were visiting her today so I had to wear the ring. I just forgot to take it off."

"Hmm..." Harry said thoughtfully, looking at her. He seemed to be studying her. "Well, I'm glad you and Malfoy are getting along then."

He was frowning in deep thought and Hermione felt too guilty to ask what he was thinking about. She was embarrassed to be pretending to be Draco's wife when Ron's family and best friend were there. It was just a disguise, it didn't mean anything but she was still afraid Harry was judging her. So before she stepped off the bottom step of the stairs, she slid the Claddagh ring into her pocket.

Hermione stopped in the doorway to the kitchen, looking in at the people there. Mrs Weasley was cooking on the stove, but turned around every few minutes to smile warmly at the young people behind her. Fleur, Ginny, and Draco were sitting on the floor playing with toys to entertain Annabelle who was sitting in Draco's lap. Hermione paused to look at him. The soft yellow light made him glow, almost like an angel Hermione thought faintly. His blonde hair was a little longer, just passed his ears and his skin was tanner. But the most noticeable difference was the fond smile on his face as he looked at Belle or the teasing glint in his eyes when he spoke to Ginny or Fleur. Hermione was surprised but pleased to see Draco actually looking comfortable and happy sitting on the floor with people he barely knew. She was also glad to see how kind he was being to her daughter, holding her and playing with her. It was sweet.

Harry and Hermione joined the rest of them for dinner and when it was dark enough to see the fireflies, Hermione put Belle to bed. Harry, Ginny, Mrs Weasley and Fleur were leaving. They all hugged Hermione goodbye and Mrs Weasley even pulled Draco into a tight embrace, much to his embarrassment.

They left and the house was finally silent. Hermione went upstairs and collapsed into bed, falling asleep without even taking off her shoes.


	13. Chapter 13

It was just after eight o'clock at night and Hermione was putting Annabelle to bed. The sun was nearly down and the last rays of the evening made the trees shine gold. It was late September and the leaves had changed from emerald to ruby. Hermione was a bit down because her plants were dying, but she had Belle to keep her busy.

She had just given the baby her bath and was carrying her into the nursery. Belle was cozy in flannel pink pajamas and blinked up at her mother as Hermione tucked the teddy-bear blanket all around her. She placed the stuffed Hippogriff and Bear beside Annabelle and Hermione proceeded to take out the gilded fairy-tale book Ginny had given her. Hermione was pleased to find that it was a muggle fairy-tale book, much like what she had as a child.

She flipped through the book, trying to decide which to read to her daughter first. She was awestruck at the beautiful illustrations and glossy pages. As she skimmed through the elegant book, one picture caught her eye. It was of a tower in a castle. There was a storm raging around the castle and lightening lit up the night. In the flash of the lightening, a silhouette was visible in the tallest tower. It was of a being, too misshapen and grotesque to be human. She knew the name of the story, without even having to look.

"Would you like me to read you _Beauty and the Beast_?" Hermione asked her daughter. Annabelle blinked in response. "The heroine's name is Belle too!"

Annabelle just looked up at her mother with owlish eyes so Hermione cleared her throat and began to read, "Once upon a time there was a merchant who set off to the market. He asked his three daughters what they would like him to bring them back and the eldest said a silk dress. The middle daughter said she wanted a pearl necklace. And the youngest, and most beautiful, daughter's only request was a single red rose.

"The man finished his business and started for home. He had presents for his first two daughters, but not the youngest because it was the middle of winter and no roses could grow. He was disappointed that he would have no present for his darling Belle when he passed by a castle. It was surrounded by storm clouds and was a sickly grey colour. Weeds grew rampant over the walls and stone demons were the only decorations. He was surprised, however, to see that no snow fell on the grounds of this ruined castle. Instead, it was blanketed in a garden of roses. The man opened the gate and called for the owner of this dilapidated castle but when no one came, he plucked a perfect rose from the ground and turned to leave.

"Instantly, a horrible monster jumped out at him. It glared down at him with wicked, bloodshot eyes. The creature was wearing ornate clothes and had horrific fangs. A rough and terrifying voice snarled, 'How dare you steal from my garden? I shall put you to death for such treachery!'

"The frightened man fell to his knees and begged, 'Forgive me please! It was for my daughter, Belle! I promised her a rose from my journey and she is too sweet and pure to disappoint!'

"The Beast growled at the man, 'I shall spare your life on one condition. You must bring me your daughter to be my prisoner!'

"The terrified man ran from the nightmarish castle and didn't stop running until he reached his home where his three daughters were waiting for him. He told them of his grim adventure and Belle instantly put his mind at ease. 'Dear father,' she said kindly. 'I would do anything for you! Of course I will go to the Beast's castle to save your life!'

"The man brought his youngest daughter to the castle as promised and before he could even say goodbye, she was snatched away. Unlike the horrific way he treated her father, the Beast was surprisingly kind to Belle. He brought her books and jewellery and let her have as many roses as she wanted. And as time wore on, he grew to love her. But she was heartbroken that she was kept away from her family. He was devastated, but he let her leave. On one condition.

"'You may stay for only ten days.' He commanded. 'On the tenth day you must return here.'

"Belle was so happy to be with her family; she couldn't stand to leave on the tenth day and decided to stay for one more day. That night had a terrible nightmare. In it, the Beast was dying by a riverbank with a single red rose lying over his heart. Belle was so frightened of the dream; she left immediately for the castle. When she arrived, it was silent. She called for him, but he did not answer. Finally, she found him lying by the riverbank just the way he was in her dream. She collapsed onto the ground beside him and wept.

"'I'm so sorry,' she repeated over and over. 'I love you, please don't leave me!'

"With her words, the Beast awoke. He changed into a handsome prince and embraced Belle.

"'A witch turned me into a Beast to teach me a lesson,' He told her. "I was once as heartless as a Beast so that is what she made me. But you broke the spell!'

"No longer a beast in either body or spirit, the Prince loved Belle with all his heart and provided for her and her family for the rest of their days. They were married and lived happily ever after." Hermione finished the story and jumped when she heard a voice behind her.

"Is that a true story?" Draco asked from the doorway.

"When did you get here?" Hermione asked. "And no, of course not. It's only a fairy-tale."

"I heard you talking and came over to see what was going on. So I listened to the rest of the story." Draco explained. "And what do you mean by 'fairy-tale'?"

"Well, it's a muggle term to describe a type of story for children, usually." Hermione explained. "The stories are usually make-believe about fantastical creatures and... magic."

"But magic is real." Draco said, frowning.

"Yes, but muggles don't know that." Hermione replied patiently. "It intrigues them so they come up with tales and stories to tell their children at bedtime about magic and dragons and evil witches and true love."

"Why?" Draco scoffed.

Hermione was very quiet for a minute, then answered, "Because they're always looking for something more. Muggles need to believe in something. True love. Magic. And faith that everything will end in a 'happily ever after'."

Draco was silent as well then. He studied Hermione's face as she gently shut the sangria coloured book. She traced a finger across the gold lettering, letting her curls fall across her face. Draco remembered that she grew up for eleven years as a muggle and probably had all these beliefs as well. He wondered what it would be like to grow up in a world without magic, thinking that it was just as imaginary as true love or happy endings. He decided it would be a very dreary existence.

"Anyway," Hermione said, standing up. "She's asleep and that was the point of reading that story. Even if you thought it was stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid." He said immediately. "It actually reminded me of... you and me."

At her surprised look, he elaborated. "You know, a man and woman living together while the woman pines away for something she can't have. The man with the _beastly _personality and the woman who is... beautiful."

"You think I'm beautiful?" Hermione asked breathlessly.

"But of course, in this scenario, I'm definitely Beauty and _you're _the Beast." He smirked.

She rolled her eyes and sighed in mock exasperation. "You're such a prat." She said teasingly.

He glanced into her warm eyes, alight with affection and laughter. He felt a strange swooping feeling in the pit of his stomach and hurriedly looked away.

"It's late," He said in a much different tone of voice. "I'm going to go to bed now."

She felt him pushing away from her, putting up a wall. She looked down and felt the smile on her face fade away.

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then." She said quietly and went into her own room. She shut the door firmly behind her and ignored the tangled mass of confusion that was her heart.

Hermione woke up the next morning in a very good mood. It was September 19th, and her twenty-first birthday. She heard Annabelle starting to fuss in her crib and hurried to change her diaper and nurse her. Hermione changed Belle into a fuzzy green onesie and tied a green ribbon around her head and fuzzy auburn fluff. Hermione, herself, put on plain jeans and a loose t-shirt.

She paraded downstairs happily. Birthdays always made her cheerful. She put Annabelle in the highchair while she made tea.

"What are you so cheerful about?" Draco snapped as he wandered into the kitchen. He wasn't really a morning person.

"Today's my birthday!" Hermione explained happily, pouring the boiling water into a teapot.

Draco froze in shock. "It is?" He asked slowly.

"Mmm-hmm." She murmured, dropping two slices of bread into the toaster.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He demanded to know.

"I didn't think it was that big of a deal." She said, turning around with confusion in her eyes. "I enjoy my birthday just for the day; I don't need presents or a party to make it special. Besides, I already have the best present I could ask for."

"Aww, that's so sweet, Granger." Draco said mockingly.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You know I meant Belle."

He was deep in thought for a moment before turning on his heel and storming out of the kitchen. Hermione barely looked up. She was used to his antics.

She and Belle spent the day preparing the garden for winter. They tied canvas tarps around the more delicate bushes and put birdseed in the birdhouse. Hermione could feel the air turning colder and the skies darker. She was just thankful she had one last golden day of autumn for her birthday. The sky was a deep, cerulean blue and the leaves on the old oak tree danced in the cool breeze in a flash of gold, red and yellow. She was wearing a jacket and gloves as she worked and the effort and crisp breeze brought a pink hue to her cheeks. Annabelle was so bundled up, only her tiny face as visible. She was snoozing in the stroller as Hermione toiled under the watchful gaze of the Blue-Jays Beatrice and Gregory.

Draco arrived home just as the sun was starting to dip towards the horizon as usual. Hermione greeted him and unwrapped Belle from her outerwear.

Draco was acting unusually jumpy. He had his hands behind his back and kept looking nervously at Hermione. Finally, she just blurted out, "What is up with you?"

"Here!" He grunted and shoved a sloppily wrapped package at her. She frowned in confusion and slowly unwrapped it to reveal a hard copy of _Wuthering Heights. _

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed. "Thank you! This is my favourite book! I haven't read it before I left with Harry and Ron two years ago!"

Draco shrugged. "I'm glad you like it." He muttered nonchalantly, but Hermione could see the grin he was trying to hide.

"But your birthday present is not over yet!" He said with a wild smirk. "Go upstairs."

"Excuse me?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. "I'm not going to just go upstairs. Tell me why and then ask nicely."

He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, "_Please _go upstairs because I am making you dinner and I want it to be a surprise."

"Oh!" She gasped in surprise. "Well... okay."

"But it's not just dinner!" He said loudly. "Oh no sweet Granger! It is much more than that! I am giving you the night off! I will make the dinner, do the dishes, and take care of Belle all while you relax with your new book!"

Hermione was a little sceptical that he could do all this, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Alright," She said slowly. "I'll go upstairs. Call me for dinner. Or if Annabelle is hungry, you know..."

Draco winced and pushed her out of the kitchen, "I know, now go!"

She made her way up to her room and relaxed on the soft white quilt. She flipped the book open to the first page and started reading.

Draco stood in the kitchen staring at the fridge but not quite sure what to do. He didn't really know how to cook anything besides toast and tea and he wanted to make something nice for Hermione.

He opened the pantry at whim and stared blankly at all the cans and tins of food. A packet of spaghetti noodles caught his eye. That seemed easy enough.

He turned the stove on and filled a pot with water. He sprinkled some slat in the pot and waited for it to boil.

He stared at it. Nothing was happening. He checked the stove; it was turned on. What was taking so bloody long? How long did water take to boil?

A small whimper from behind him alerted him Belle's presence.

"Ah," Draco said uncertainly.

Annabelle wriggled in her highchair and her tiny face scrunched up. With a sinking feeling, Draco recognized a tantrum coming on. He picked her up and tried to rock her the way Hermione did, but Annabelle kept making those unhappy whimpering sounds.

"Shh, Belle," Draco tried to soothe the baby. "We need to be nice and quiet to give mummy a nice relaxing evening, alright?"

Annabelle gurgled angrily at him and her whimpers turned into a wail.

"No, no, no!" Draco moaned and tried to quiet her.

"Draco is everything alright down there?" Hermione called from her room.

"Everything's fine!" He shouted back.

He heard a bubble and a hiss from behind him and turned in horror to see the pot of water had indeed boiled and was now bubbling over the side of the pot. The bubbles seemed to fascinate Belle and she calmed down. Draco placed her back in her chair and raced over to the stove. He turned down the heat and lifted the lid on the pot. He dumped a handful of spaghetti in and poured a jar of tomato sauce into a smaller pot.

With Annabelle watching him intently, he chopped up some vegetables to make a salad.

"This is going to be delicious, isn't it Belle?" he cooed at her. She blinked back at him and he chuckled.

He started playing with her and a doll that had been left in the kitchen and promptly forgot about the food he was cooking. An odd stench reminded him.

"Ahh!" Draco shrieked when he saw that the spaghetti had been burned to the bottom of the pot and the sauce had a tar-like consistency. "Oh, shit."

He heard footsteps on the stairs and Hermione walk into the kitchen.

"What's going on, Draco?" She asked nervously, smelling the burnt food. "Is dinner almost ready?"

"Well..." He said slowly. "I burnt it. I'm sorry."

She looked into the pots and crinkled her nose. She hid her disgust very well, Draco was pleased to note.

"It's going to taste fine." She appeased him. "Just serve it on the plates while I nurse Belle."

She went off to feed Annabelle and Draco scraped the noodles out of the pot and onto the plates. He gave them each a helping of salad. He stared morosely at the sorry excuse for a birthday dinner.

Hermione walked back in with a smile on her face. She put her daughter back in her highchair and sat at a kitchen chair. Draco brought the plates to her and she gratefully accepted.

"Thank you for going to such trouble for me." She said, almost shyly.

He waved that away, "I couldn't even make spaghetti properly."

"It's good!" She said heartily, taking a big spoonful. "Really!"

Even though his cooking was clearly disgusting, she ate every last bite of pasta on her plate with a smile on her face. She praised him and said the sauce was delicious. Draco was oddly proud of himself. The food was barely edible, but Hermione liked that he had cooked for her, even if she didn't like the food.

He sent her away after dinner while he cleaned up the kitchen. He gave Belle some spoons to play with. It wasn't a usual baby toy, but she seemed happy enough. He then rushed upstairs to get the bathroom ready for the soothing bubble bath he prepared for Hermione.

"Hermione, I have prepared a bath for you to continue your evening of relaxation." He said pompously from her doorway.

"Thank you Draco," She said, surprised. "That sounds lovely."

She went into the dim bathroom and shut the door behind her. It was lit up by dozens of vanilla scented candles and the bubbles were fluffy and smelled faintly of jasmine. Hermione sighed. She hadn't had anything like this for years. She sunk into the hot water and shut her eyes.

In the kitchen, Draco stared nervously at Annabelle as she wiggled in her seat. She was making angry whimpering sounds again and picking at her diaper. Draco had a horrible suspicion that her diaper needed to be changed.

"Can't you just wait until tomorrow and your mother's relaxing birthday is over?" Draco asked Belle desperately.

She didn't even look up. She was pouting and wrinkling her nose. Draco knew from experience that a tantrum was brewing.

"Ah, okay," He said and grabbed her. He carried her at arm's length all the way to her changing table. He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves and tried to hold his breath as he undid her diaper.

"Oh bloody hell Annabelle!" He gasped as the fumes made his eyes water.

He tried to breathe as little as possible and cleaned her up as best he could. It was revolting and he vowed that that would be the last time he would ever change a diaper.

He rubbed on the baby skin cream that Hermione used on her. It smelled like apples or something fresh like that. He wrapped her up in her little blue sleeper and tucked her into her crib with her stuffed toys around her. She blinked up at him and he remembered that Hermione usually told her a story of some sorts now.

"Er, let's take a look through your book, shall we?" He said hesitantly. He flipped through the book Hermione was reading her last night and landed on a picture of a lone ivy-covered tower with a stream of gold flowing from the window and a man standing at the bottom. Closer inspection revealed that the gold stream was hair. Intrigued, he began to read.

"Once upon a time – bloody hell why do they all start like this?" Draco muttered and continued, "Once upon a time, there was a young couple who were pregnant with their first child. The wife grew fatally ill and knew she was fated to die along with her unborn child. Her husband was desperate to save her. So desperate, he snuck into a witch's garden to steal the plant rampion to give to her to save her he was caught. Idiot, he was such a Gryffindor. If he was a Slytherin, he wouldn't have been caught. Slytherin's are cunning like that. Anyway –

He continued to read the fable, interjecting his little snide comments every once in a while. He seemed to get into the story though and was genuinely interested. Unbeknownst to him, Hermione stood waiting in the doorway. Her slightly damp hair was curling around her face and she was wrapped up in her pink bathrobe. Hermione couldn't help but smile as Draco read the muggle story to her daughter. She was surprised but pleased that he was being so kind to Annabelle. And as arrogant and haughty as he was, he was taking an interest in something muggle related. Something she grew up with and believed, he was enjoying as well.

"...And they all lived happily ever after!" Draco finished with a flourish. He shut the book and peeked into the crib to see if Belle was asleep. Hermione watched a gentle smile light up his face as he looked at the sleeping infant he had grown to care about.

"Thank you," Hermione said suddenly, startling him. "For the birthday and for taking care of Annabelle. It's nice to have some help every once in a while."

"You're welcome, Hermione." Draco said softly.

They couldn't look at each other for a moment. Hermione was staring determinedly out the window and Draco was studying the floor as if it was the most important thing he had ever seen.

"So... thank you," Hermione said awkwardly.

"You said that already," Draco pointed out with a smirk.

"Er, yeah," Hermione said, hating how flustered his bright eyes were making her.

She turned on her heel and promptly smashed into the doorframe. She could hear Draco suck in a quick breath and chuckle under his breath.

Hermione summed what was left of her dignity and said stiffly, "Goodnight, Draco."

She could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "Goodnight, Granger."

Hermione smiled and blushed at the same time as she shut herself in her room and pressed a hand to her mouth to keep from giggling. This was the best birthday ever.

**A/N i hope you like this! Just so you know, school as started again so i might not be able to update as regularily but i will try my best! Pretty please review! **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N im so sorry its been so long but school is killing me! please don't hate me, lovely readers! **

Hermione hummed along to the radio as she prepared the morning tea. She was still wrapped up in her housecoat and Belle was half asleep in her highchair. Her hair was messy from sleep and fell down her back in loose curls. As the water boiled on the stove, she leaned on the counter and peered out the window.

Frost had fallen on her sanctuary – covering the grass in silvery ice and shrivelling the flowers until they were unrecognizable. It left lacy patterns on the window and let a cool chill creep under the doors and windows. It was clear winter was on its way. But Hermione also knew that the frost would melt away once the sun was higher in the sky. The tree still had some leaves on them, though most were on the ground. The sky was pale blue with long ivory clouds scudding across it. There was a faint breeze blowing through the back garden, making the trees shake and drop leaves. It was nearing the end of October and probably one of the last warm days of autumn.

She remembered another crisp fall day, from another life it almost seemed. She was thirteen; it was their second year at Hogwarts. She felt her lips lift in a melancholy smile as she fell back into the memory.

"_JUMP, HARRY!"_

"_AHHHH!"_

"_Would you two please settle down? I'm trying to study."_

"_You work too hard, 'Mione." Harry paused to glance down at his friend sitting beside the lake with a thick book in her lap and a scowl on her face. _

"_Yeah, 'Mione!" Ron shouted from behind Harry. "Live a little, for once!"_

"_You know I don't like flying." Hermione said haughtily, glancing down her nose at them and shaking back her curls. _

"_It's fun!" Harry said, his glasses slipping down his nose. "You need time to just relax!" _

_Harry and Ron were taking turns riding on Harry's broomsticks and then leaping off into a huge pile of leaves Filch had so carefully raked up. _

"_It's dangerous," Hermione asked coolly. _

_Harry and Ron looked highly offended. _

"_No," Harry said. "Not really! It's fun!" _

_Hermione tried to hold her steely glare but the combined effect of both Harry's and Ron's puppy-dog eyes were too much for her, so she relented and gave in, "Alright," She sighed, "Only for a little while, I do have to study you know."_

_Harry and Ron cheered and helped her on the broom. She hovered about a foot off the ground and refused to dive-bomb off like her idiot best friends, but it was enough for them and it was enough for her too. Ron and Harry dared each other to go higher and higher before leaping off and tumbling onto the leaves. Hermione was mostly biting her lip with anxious worry and shrieking at them when they jumped from too high, but they agreed it was better to have her nagging them than studying. When Ron and Harry were panting from exertion and Hermione had tried the broom one more time, the three best friends collapsed into the leaf pile, laughing and rosy-cheeked. _

_Hermione lay between Harry and Ron, her hair splayed out against the red and gold leaves, tickling the boys' ears. She couldn't feel her gloveless fingers or her nose but it was worth it. It seemed like such a silly thing; jumping into leaf piles from a broomstick. But it was simply _fun. _And Hermione didn't do a lot of fun things. The trio laid still and quiet, which was odd for the two high-energy boys. They watched the deep blue sky and the cotton white clouds drift lazily across it. Hermione could feel the dampness and crunchiness of the leaves soaking through her cloak, but she didn't want to move. She could hear Ron and Harry breathing beside her and smiled in contentment. She reached out and wrapped her cold fingers around their equally cold fingers. She could practically hear their smiles. Hermione shut her eyes to better preserve this perfect bliss._

"Hermione?"

Hermione turned to see Draco standing in the doorway to the kitchen, wearing jeans and a black sweater. His hair was rumpled and a frown was etched across his face.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing!" She answered too quickly. Her voice was husky and she realized belatedly that there were tears on her cheeks. 

She smoothed the front of her robe and tried to pat down her hair. It didn't stay flat (of course it didn't), it sprung back into its usual frizzy disaster. "Tea?" She asked him weakly, trying to hide the sniffles she was making.

"Hermione-"

"I'm fine!" She squeaked in a voice so unnaturally high, even she knew it was obvious something was wrong.

She poured the tea into two mugs and her hands were shaking so badly, she dripped a few drops on the counter. Seeing those two black splotches on the clean countertop suddenly made all of her desperate, suffocating feelings bubble up and overflow.

Sobs wracked her body and bent her almost double. She clutched her chest, just over her heart, as if to hold herself together. She felt very strongly if she let go, she would crumble into a million pieces. Instantly, Draco crossed the kitchen in two long strides and was by her side.

He didn't hesitate, just pulled her against him, crashing her shaking body against his chest. She clutched his sweater and he could feel her sharp nails digging into his skin. Her tears were soaking through his sweater, but he didn't let her go. He wasn't sure why she was crying, but she just wept and wept and he let her.

When she was finally all cried out, she pushed away from him and wiped her red eyes with the back of her hand.

"Sorry about that," She said fake-cheerfully.

"Hermione," He said gently but firmly, "Tell me what's wrong."

Her lower lip quivered and he was afraid she was going to start crying again. Her thin shoulders slumped and she crossed her arms over her broken heart.

"I miss Ron and Harry," She said softly, "I just... miss being a kid. Everything seemed so simple back then. The hardest thing in my life was exams. I never wondered what life would be like without Ron or Harry at my side. And now Harry is fighting in a war and Ron is dead! He's dead! Annabelle will never know her father because he died fighting in this blasted war!" She brought a hand up over her face as a few tears leaked out before she pulled herself together enough to say, "I just wish things could go back to the way they were before, when we were back at Hogwarts. I miss Ron so much."

Draco wasn't sure what to say. He felt his own heart aching to see the pain on Hermione's face. She still seemed so delicate, so vulnerable. Just when he thought she was getting better and getting out of her depression, something happened to knock her back down again. He just held her and stroked her back. He held her until she stopped trembling and her breathing slowed to normal.

"You know," He said slowly, awkwardly, unsure how far he could go, "Even though you don't have Ron anymore, you have something even more amazing."

They both turned to look at Hermione's sweet daughter, Belle. She was still groggy from sleep, but could sense her mother's distress and was frowning. Draco watched Hermione's gaze soften.

"Thank you," She said simply for Draco, "For being here for me... I just want you to know I appreciate it."

He squeezed her hand and said, "I know," before hurrying out the door before a smile could light up his face.

**A/N sorry its so late! School is killing me! im on the yearbook committee and its a ton of work! Forgive me! **


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N hey guys! I have a serious problem with being on time, i know. My friends yell at me for being late to school every day. But fanfiction keeps shutting itself down on my computer and i have a new job and a minor case of writers block! But i will overcome these obstacles to update as fast as i can!**

"Hermione, what is taking you so long? We said we would be there fifteen minutes ago!" Draco shouted from the doorway, overheating slightly in his winter coat. He didn't wear gloves or a hat. He pretended he was tough enough to withstand the cold, and Hermione never fought him on it. If he wanted to freeze to death, he could go right ahead.

Hermione was upstairs getting Annabelle ready and she yelled back downstairs, "I'm almost ready! I don't want her to get cold!"

She then hurried downstairs carrying a thick, pink package that Draco realized was Belle. She was bundled up in a fluffy pink coat, mittens, boots, scarf that was pulled up over her nose, and hat with a pom-pom on it. Hermione handed her daughter to Draco to hold while she pulled on her own boots. All of their clothing was second-hand, since they didn't have that much money but it was still relatively good-quality and didn't have that many patches on it. Hermione was pleased when she found a red scarf and loved to wear it around Draco, flaunting her house colour. She pulled an overlarge blue hat over her curls and yanked on soft grey mittens. She took back her baby from Draco and he picked up the bag of presents. They walked out the door and into the bitterly cold evening.

It was Christmas Eve and Alice had invited them over for dinner. The lane was frozen, but snow hadn't fallen yet. Hermione wished it would. She did love a white Christmas. As they entered the town, Draco suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked, turning to face him.

"What is that?" He asked pointing to a house. She was confused until she realized that the house was lit up with Christmas lights and Draco had probably never seen them before.

"Oh!" She said, a smile growing on her frozen face. "They're Christmas lights. It's a muggle tradition. They hang the lights up so Santa Claus will see their house in the dark."

Draco frowned, "Who is Santa Claus?"

Hermione grinned, "He's Father Christmas. He lives in the North Pole and makes toys all year for all the children of the world and on Christmas Eve he comes down on his great red sleigh pulled by flying reindeer and delivers them."

"That's wicked!" Draco exclaimed. "Why doesn't he deliver presents to the wizard children?"

Hermione laughed, "Because he doesn't exist! It's just a story told to children. I told you muggles liked believing in magic. The wizarding world must not have the same fables."

Draco pouted. Hermione smiled and continued walking. They soon arrived at the bookshop, hung with shining gold lights. Draco used his key to open the front door and the locked it behind them. They climbed the back stairs and knocked on the door that led to Alice's flat.

She swung the door open immediately. She was wearing a hideous knit sweater that had Santa's sleigh on it and all nine reindeer. Rudolph's nose was done in red rhinestones. Christmas music was playing in the background and she had decorated every inch of her flat in Christmas decorations. She ushered them in and they peeled off their winter gear.

"Merry Christmas, Mason family!" Alice gushed. Draco smirked. He had never seen his employer so giddy. Christmas excitement and joy seemed to be infectious. Or maybe, as he noticed a punch bowl filled with a yellow liquid, she had already dipped into the egg nog.

"Hello, Alice," Hermione said, kissing Alice's wrinkled cheek.

"_Round yon Virgin Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild!" _Alice sang to Annabelle. Belle seemed more entranced by the lights on the Christmas tree, than Alice's crooning though.

"Is there anything I can do to help with dinner?" Hermione asked her host politely. Alice led her into the kitchen, where the mouth-watering scent of roast beef was filling the air.

Belle was sitting by herself near the tree, staring up at it in awe. She had learned to sit up a few weeks ago and Hermione had weaned her off of breast milk. Draco had to witness more than one proud parenting moment and Hermione cooing senselessly at her daughter. Belle's hair was still wispy and soft, but it had grown to chin length. She was wearing a red dress and white stockings.

She looked with wide eyes at Draco than back at the tree then back at him, as if telling him to look at the tree.

"Yeah, it's pretty great, huh Belle?" He said, dropping down beside her. She blinked at him with large blue eyes and turned back to the tree. Draco put the package that they had brought with them under the tree and Belle scrunched up her little face and wiggled.

Draco watched in amusement as Annabelle lurched and moved, though she was still seated. Then his mouth fell open as Belle propelled herself onto her hands and knees and started to shuffle towards the blue and white gift box he had just set down. She was slow going and seemed unstable and wobbly, but she was actually crawling.

"H-hey!" He shouted, his voice cracking from surprise and excitement. "Belle's crawling!"

As he expected, Hermione raced into the living room followed shortly by Alice. The two women stopped to watch the littlest member of their dinner party, crawl towards a brightly wrapped present under the tree.

"Oh Annabelle!" Hermione cooed. "What a good girl you are! You are so smart and clever! Just like your mother!"

She sent a triumphant look at Draco, who only rolled his eyes and sighed in boredom in response. Just as Belle's chubby fist was about to reach the present, Draco snatched it away.

"Sorry, not for you." He told the toddler and watched – panicking – as her eyes filled with tears and her lower lip quivered.

"What is wrong with you?" Hermione snapped, picking up her daughter before she could start wailing. "That is not the way you talk to a baby."

He didn't even dignify that with a response, just rolled his eyes at her idiocy.

"Shall we eat, then?" Alice asked with a slight smile on her face as she watched the young pair.

They settled around her tiny table with Annabelle sitting in a highchair beside Hermione. Draco nearly inhaled his dinner and then had second and third helpings. Hermione, of course, told him he shouldn't eat Alice out of house and home and he told her she shouldn't be such a bossy know-it-all and then they were bickering over the mashed potatoes. Again.

Alice said nothing, just watched the couple with a gleam of amusement and affection in her soft, blue eyes. It was only when Belle whipped her bottle onto the floor and stuck her hands into the carrots that Hermione and Draco stopped their pointless argument to control the child.

After they ate, Draco and Hermione washed the dishes as Alice put them away. Alice watched as they hip-checked and flicked soap at each other. Annabelle was watching the action from her highchair, her rosebud lips parted slightly in awe.

When the kitchen was cleaned, they settled onto the couch to give out the presents. Draco sat on the floor with Annabelle and Hermione and Alice were on the couch. Draco handed their present to Alice and watched the expression of delight and warmth in her eyes.

She opened the wrappings carefully, never ripping or crumpling it. Her eyes glittered with tears of joy as she held up the green and red scarf.

"Thank you," She breathed. "It's lovely."

"I knit it myself," Hermione said proudly.

"It's Christmas coloured," Alice said, feeling the soft wool between her fingers.

"Mmm-hmm," Hermione mumbled. The scarf was green and red because she and Draco couldn't decide if it should be red and gold or green and silver so they compromised.

"Belle made you something as well," Draco said gesturing to the blue wrapping paper. Alice reached in and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She opened it to reveal a swirl of red, green, blue, pink and yellow paint.

"She finger painted it herself," Hermione said, grinning.

"Thanks, love," Alice said to the child.

Annabelle smiled toothlessly at her and Alice chuckled. She plucked a square gift from under the tree and gave it to Hermione.

"This is for you, Hattie," She said kindly.

Hermione opened it to reveal a faintly worn hardcover book. She gasped in delight and flipped through the thick, ivory pages. "Thank you, Alice." She said happily.

"I know you enjoy poetry, dear," She said, "And Lord Byron is a classic poet."

Hermione stopped at a page and smiled as she read, "_She walks in beauty like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies... _Thank you, Alice."

"I'm glad you like it," was Alice's smiling response.

Draco opened his gift from Alice and laughed when he saw a pair of woollen grey gloves.

"I'm tired of worrying your hands will get frostbite, so you will wear them," She told him firmly, but with a glimmer of teasing in her eyes, "Stop pretending to be a tough guy."

"I _am _a tough guy!" He protested.

"You wish," Hermione smirked.

The evening was spent in front of the warm fire with a glass of egg nog in front of each of them. The flat was ringing with laughter and gentle teasing. When Annabelle had fallen asleep in Alice's lap and Hermione felt her eyelids grow heavy, they decided to go. They marched down the snowless lane back to their little house and Hermione put her sleepy baby to bed. She read _The Night Before Christmas _to Annabelle and Draco, who was even more fascinated than the tot. Hermione kissed her daughter and said goodnight to Draco. She crawled under the covers in her room, savouring the delicious feeling of sleepy happiness and contentment.

She awoke the next morning to the sharp realization that it was Christmas. There was nothing like the feeling of waking up on Christmas morning. She flung off her blankets and shivered in the cold morning air before slipping on her robe and hurrying to get Annabelle.

Draco heard the familiar sounds of Annabelle and Hermione's morning routine. He lay there in the warm and soft land between awake and dreaming, before remembering that it was Christmas. He bolted from his bed, throwing on a sweater overtop of his pajamas. He got to the kitchen in time to see Belle staring with wide eyes at the lit up tree over laden with brightly wrapped gifts. Hermione was pouring tea into two slightly chipped mugs and there was a tray of steaming cinnamon buns beside her.

Draco snatched one of the gooey buns before she could stop him and shoved the sweet treat into his mouth.

"Mmmm," He said with his mouth stuffed, "Delicious, Granger!"

"Don't talk with your mouth full," She said bossily, rolling her eyes. But as she turned away, Draco could see her smiling.

He grinned and picked up Annabelle, flying her through the air towards the Christmas tree. She was laughing and Hermione was following them, carrying the tray of cinnamon buns, tea and the baby's bottle.

Draco collapsed onto the floor with Belle, being careful not to hurt her. She crawled under the tree to touch a pine needle. The sharp scent of the pine mixed with the sweet aroma of the tea and cinnamon buns made Draco smile unwillingly.

The munched the hot food while showering Annabelle with presents. Both of them went overboard with the gifts for her. But she was so delighted by each and every one, it was worth it. When they couldn't see the carpet for the ocean of wrapping paper over it, Draco gave Hermione his present.

"Er, this is for you," He mumbled awkwardly.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, pleased and surprised that he had got her a gift.

She delicately wrapped the silver paper to reveal a beautiful necklace. It had a thin gold chain and a tiny jade heart hanging off of it. It was simple yet elegant, something she could wear every day. It was simply striking.

"Will you help me put it on?" She asked him quietly. She turned her back to him, lifting her thick hair off her neck. He hesitated for a moment, and then slipped it around her neck. He was trying to flick the clasp into place, but it was very small and his fingers were a little large for such a delicate chain. As it finally fell into place, his thumb brushed against her neck accidently. He felt her shiver. It was that shiver that caused a rush of emotion he couldn't even name. To feel her shivering from _his _touch was... completely exhilarating to say the least. She turned slowly to face him. He realized they were sitting quite close to each other. Close enough for their legs to touch. Their faces were only about a foot apart, close enough to see the finer details of her face. Like her eyes weren't the dark chocolate brown that he had previously thought, they had swirls of honey in them. Her hair has more blonde streaks than he remembered and her skin was creamy and smooth. Her lips parted slightly to reveal a row of even white teeth underneath soft, pink lips.

She seemed to be drinking in his appearance as much as he was hers. She suddenly blushed so pink; it was like roses were blooming under her skin. She ducked her head in embarrassment causing her thick curls to fall across her face. Without thinking, he leaned over and gently tucked the strand behind her ear, leaving a trail of fingerprints across her lower left cheek. She looked up again to see his face was much closer now. He slowly dragged his fingers down from her left ear, to the side of her throat and let it finally rest on her shoulder. She could barely breathe. Incomprehensibly, she found herself leaning into his touch. He leaned forward as well, until their faces were at an even closer distance. She was so close, she could taste his breath. Like cinnamon and tea and his minty toothpaste. She had no idea what was going to happen next, and never found out because just at the wrong moment, Belle knocked over the tray of cinnamon buns.

The young witch and wizard jerked away from each other as if they had been electrocuted. Hermione hurried to get a damp cloth to clean up the mess, all the while feeling as though she missed out on the best Christmas treat.

She pasted a cheerful smile on her disappointed face and tried to pretend that nothing had happened. She had a vaguely sick feeling in her stomach. Being that near to Draco had excited her but also made her feel uncomfortable. For some reason, she was afraid Ron would be angry with her. She didn't want to betray him.

She cleaned up Belle's mess and then threw out the wrapping paper as well. She found Draco and Annabelle still seated in the living room playing with her new toys.

"I have something for you as well," She burst out awkwardly.

She pulled a heavy box from the very back of the tree and shoved it at Draco. He looked excited but confused and she waited, smiling nervously, as he opened it.

"Oh, er... thank you," He said unsurely, "But, um, what is it?"

Hermione laughed, "It's a television! Muggles use it to watch moving pictures!"

Draco looked interested and when she explained in more detail how it worked, he was fascinated. She told him she would help set it up after they had gotten dressed and cleaned up. She was walking down the stairs carrying a freshly changed Belle when the doorbell rang. She grinned, excited for she knew only a select few knew where this house was. She flung open the door to gust of cold morning wind and the people she considered family.

"Hermione!" Harry cried and pulled her and her daughter into his arms. He pressed her against his chest and she inhaled his familiar scent of treacle tart, wilderness and soap. Annabelle was sandwiched between them, but she didn't seem too bothered by it. She reached up to pat Harry's throat and he laughed, making her widen her eyes at the vibrations of his Adam's apple.

"Will you two move out of the doorway?" A male's voice called from behind Harry, "It's bloody freezing out here!"

Hermione and Harry moved out of the way to allow the crowd of people to push through. Just before the front door was slammed shut, Hermione peeked outside. Still no snow, she thought with disappointment.

The Order of the Phoenix crowded her front room, hanging up thick cloaks in the closet and kicking off worn boots by the white bench. Annabelle seemed enthralled by all the new people. But when anyone looked over at her, she buried her face in her mother's shoulder.

"Happy Christmas, dear," Mrs Weasley said fondly, kissing Hermione on the cheek then bustling off to the kitchen.

Just as she was handing Belle off to Fleur to coddle and coo over, a flash of red launched itself at Hermione and hugged her tight, screaming in her ear, over and over, "Harry and I are engaged! Harry and I are engaged!"

Ginny pulled away from a stunned Hermione to show her left hand. On her ring finger sat a slender gold band with a modest diamond. It wasn't showy or expensive though Merlin knew Harry could afford it. It was a quiet declaration of their love.

"Merlin's pants, Gin!" Hermione squealed loudly, earning her odd looks from the Weasley twins. "That's incredible!"

"I know!" Ginny shrieked back, "He proposed last night! It was so romantic, Hermione!"

As Ginny explained in great detail how Harry had asked her to marry him, Hermione's eyes captured everyone in the room. She was pleased to see Neville and Luna standing at the back door, with her pointing out things in Hermione's garden with theatrical hand gestures. Fleur and Bill were playing with Belle in the kitchen and multi-tasking by assisting Mrs Weasley cook Christmas dinner. Teddy Lupin, two and a half years old now, wandered over to play with Fleur, Bill and Belle in the kitchen while his father wearily sat in an armchair observing and his mother was sprawled across the living room floor watching Mr Weasley. He was trying to get Draco's new TV to work, while Draco was sitting across from him looking slightly uncomfortable, like he wasn't a hundred percent sure what he was doing there. Ginny had moved to sit next to her fiancé on the couch and was teasing and joking with Draco who scowled back, and only looked a little annoyed.

Hermione felt overjoyed that her closest friends had come to celebrate the holiday with her. Unlike the last time they had visited when she was exhausted and cranky, she couldn't be more delighted that they were there. It had been so long since she had last seen them, and she knew she must appear different to them. She had Draco to thank for that. He brought her out of a very dark place, and she was glad that he was here with her. She had never thought of it that way, but she was honestly glad that it was _him _she was sharing a safe house with.

She dropped onto the couch on the other side of Harry to join in on the conversation. Draco was kneeling on the floor with Mr Weasley and completely focused on the TV. Crookshanks leaped up and sat on top of it, much to the anger of Draco. As he raged and shouted at the 'stupid ginger monster' to get down, Ginny, Harry and Hermione roared with laughter. Hermione had tears in her eyes and Draco looked up to meet her eyes. His furious silver gaze softened when they met her cinnamon brown ones, teary from laughter. His lips quirked at the corner at what she swore was almost a smile, before he was back to shouting at her cat.

**A/N hey guys! I hope you like this chapter! Pretty please with draco on top review! **


	16. Chapter 16

Hermione was curled up on the overstuffed couch facing the little TV she bought at a second-hand store for Draco's Christmas present. It had been a month since he got it, but he was just as enthralled by it as ever. He was currently sprawled across the floor, gazing at the TV like it was some sort of miracle. He was wearing the jumper Mrs Weasley presented to him Christmas Day. Hermione could remember perfectly the look of surprise and delight when he opened the gift box to see his very own Weasley jumper. It was charcoal grey and fit him perfectly. Hermione and Belle got one of course, as well. Hermione's was deep red and Annabelle's was bright pink threaded with strands of silver.

Hermione's daughter was sound asleep on the second floor. Hermione tugged the soft beige afghan tighter around her body, disturbing Crookshank who was curled up against her and causing him to give her a very dirty look. She glanced out the window and frowned. Still no snow. It was halfway through January and it hadn't snowed once. She loved the snow. She had such fond memories of playing in it as a child. Every winter her father would help her make a snowman and snow angels and her mother would be waiting inside with hot cocoa and they would curl up by the fire watching the snow fall as her mother read aloud Shakespeare sonnets. She felt melancholy, all of a sudden, and realized that she was the only person who held those memories. Her parents knew none of this. It didn't even snow in Australia...

A loud laugh from Draco broke her from her reverie. Her gaze snapped from the frosty window to where he was laying on the worn green, brown and beige patterned carpet. He was watching some silly sitcom. Hermione couldn't remember the name. He was laughing over cliché jokes and reused plot lines. Hermione found it ridiculous and overdone. She was never one for TV; she preferred a good old-fashioned novel. He laughed again and she yawned. It was late but she was too entertained by Draco to go upstairs just yet. The only light was the glow from the television set. Hermione nestled deeper into her nest of blankets and smiled. Who would've guessed that _Draco Malfoy _of all people would be so delighted by something invented by muggles?

When her eyes were drooping and she couldn't contain her yawns, she kicked off her blanket and sent Crookshanks flying to the floor. She stood up and said, "I'm going to go to bed now. Goodnight Draco."

"Hmm? Oh, goodnight Hermione!" He said from the floor. He grinned, the light of the television reflected in his eyes. His eyes were sleepy but excited and his hair flopped carelessly across his forehead. Crookshanks glared at Hermione and lay next to Draco and Draco waved with the free hand that wasn't clutching the TV remote.

Hermione chuckled and made her way in the blue-ish light up to her bedroom. She fell asleep to the distant sounds of Draco laughing and the conversation of the characters on the telly.

As usual, she woke to the sound of her baby daughter crying. Annabelle was only six months old and was getting better at sleeping through the night, but when she woke up, she wanted to get out of her crib _now. _

Hermione shuffled to Belle's pink nursery and gently picked the squirming girl up. As soon as her mother's cool hands touched her, Annabelle calmed down. Hermione pressed her to her chest, feeling the familiar ache that Ron should be here for this. He should take turns waking up for Annabelle and feeding her and getting her to fall asleep. Absently, she wondered if, wherever he was, Ron was looking down at her and their beautiful baby girl and was proud of them. She missed him so bad. So bad it was like a constant weight in her chest. She didn't think she could ever stop loving him this hard.

But, as she carried her sleepy daughter down to the kitchen, she had to admit it had been easier to breathe lately. It was almost as if the weight was softening slightly. She wasn't sure if it would ever go away, but she didn't think about it as much. Ron was a constant presence in her thoughts, but nowadays, he was more to the back of her mind than the front of every thought. She was embarrassed to say her new mentality was largely due to Draco. He was surprisingly kind to her and Annabelle and was a totally different person than who he was in Hogwarts. She was sure that if they hadn't been trapped in a small cottage with any other companions, he would not be treating her so nicely. She flicked on the radio and fiddled with the stations until she landed on a song she liked.

As though he was following her thoughts, Draco appeared in the doorway, rubbing sleep out of his eyes, making his grey t-shirt to lift slightly, revealing a sliver of a hard, pale stomach. Hermione caught herself staring and immediately looked away. She averted her gaze to the frosty window. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in shock when she noticed that it was finally – _finally – _snowing.

"_Oh_," She whispered. She had the sudden urge to run outside and feel the snow against her skin. She shoved her bewildered daughter into an equally bewildered Draco's arms and wandered outside.

Draco watched in wonder as she raised her arms and tilted her head back, opening herself to the sky above. She had her eyes closed and her lips in a blissful smile. Her blue slippers left tiny foot prints in the newly fallen snow and her familiar pink house coat swished around her ankles as she twirled. She was dancing, he realized, suddenly awestruck. An overwhelming crush of emotions made him smile and tear up at the same time. He watched her dance in the falling snow; the delicate flakes coating her hair and eyelashes, making her look like a winter princess. He wasn't sure if he was crying because of grief or joy. He was a mess of passionate, raw emotions and it took him a minute to put a name to them. He was in love with her. He was briefly horrified, the arrogant Slytherin pure-blood inside of him quelled at the thought of loving a mudblood. But mostly his heart was breaking. How could he love her, when she was still so deeply in love with Ron? His heart was aching and bleeding, this new love was killing him.

He had to hold her. Just once. He had to touch her and look into her eyes just this once. He didn't expect anything to happen, he wasn't sure if he even wanted anything to happen, but watching her dancing with her eyes shut in the falling snow made something inside of him need her desperately. He put Belle in her high chair and crossed the frozen garden in three long strides to be by her side. He pulled her into his arms. She opened her eyes immediately. He wasn't sure what she found in his eyes, but whatever emotion was there made her smile in a sad sort of way and move in time with him.

_Stars shining bright above you;  
>Night breezes seem to whisper I love you<br>Birds singing in the sycamore tree.  
>Dream a little dream of me.<em>

Draco knew this would be the only time he would ever hold her. She belonged to another world entirely. A world where he could never go. He could look in and catch a glimpse of a radiant young woman, but he would never belong there. She was so wrapped up in the past; she couldn't see his overpowering and frightening love.

_Say nighty-night and kiss me;  
>Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me.<br>While I'm alone, blue as can be,  
>Dream a little dream of me.<em>

There was no room in her heart for a man with the tattoo of death on his arm. Maybe if he was good and kind and brave, she could grow to love him. But he wasn't. He was cynical and arrogant and, in all honesty, a bully. She deserved someone who could make her laugh. If Ron couldn't be with her, she needed the next best thing. She had no room in her heart for someone like him, but maybe she could've been able to love him if he was a different man.

_Stars fading but I linger on, dear-  
>Still craving your kiss.<br>I'm longing to linger till dawn, dear,  
>Just saying this...<em>

He loved her so much it scared him. He pulled her closer just to feel her warm body press tight against his. He knew she would never stop loving Ron. And he knew she would never stop wishing he was here instead of Draco. That thought killed him. He wanted to be enough for her, but he just... wasn't.

_Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you-  
>Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you.<br>But in your dreams, whatever they be,  
>Dream a little dream of me.<em>

Their movements slowed. They stood still in the falling snow clutching each other desperately, unfeeling to the coldness of their feet, the bitter wind racing across their bare skin, of anything except the other's body pressed together tightly. He couldn't let go of her just yet. When he did, this moment would be over. When he let go of her, he would have to bury his love for her so deep within him, as to forget it was even there. He couldn't end it so soon. She looked up and met his pain-filled gaze. He was surprised, but at the same time not surprised at all, to see she had tears running thick and fast down her snow white cheeks, just like he did. Her eyes were heavy with emotion and she was clinging to him just has tightly. Her eyes were the colour of melted chocolate, of Spring earth, of hot tea, of baby Sparrows, of everything good and wholesome in the world. He wanted to stand there forever drinking her in. But eventually, Annabelle started to cry for attention and her doting mother broke their connection to stumble inside. Draco couldn't move for a minute. His body was too deeply affected by his churning emotions.

When he could finally gather the strength to walk away, he couldn't feel any of his extremities. He slipped inside just long enough to grab a coat then hurried back outside and down the road.

Hermione watched him go through the front window. He had left her so confused. She wasn't sure of anything anymore. He had shaken her world to the core. She tried to calm her shaking hands and focused on things besides crushing new emotions.

**A/N sorry its late but i hope his realization of his love made the wait worth it? Please review! Thanks friends! **


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N thanks for the brilliant reviews guys! You give me inspiration to keep going!**

The sun lit up the frost-covered window like every other morning, but already Hermione could tell spring was coming. The snow had melted and only a thin layer of silver frost covered the hard grass. The bare branches swayed in the wind, showing off their blooming buds. The brisk April morning looked so inviting to her; she leaned over and opened the kitchen window. She laughed in surprise when she heard an achingly familiar sound.

"Shut the window, Hermione you nutter," Draco muttered into his steaming tea from the kitchen table, "It's bloody freezing outside."

"Draco," Hermione breathed, not even scolding him for his foul language in front of her daughter, "The birds are back."

She swung open the kitchen door and wandered outside, completely unaware of her surroundings, typical for her. She was much spacier now. She always seemed a little lost in her own world.

She was laughing as she crossed the frozen grass in her bare feet, one hand outstretched to the blue-jays she nicknamed Beatrice and Gregory. The birds twittered excitedly as they saw her, recognizing her as the one who cleaned up their garden and brought them a birdhouse. She laughed again, the sound ringing through Draco's head like silver bells.

He leaned against the doorframe, watching her as the birds flew around her head. She was twirling to keep them insight, her curls swinging behind her. A grin lit up her face and she was absolutely stunning in her jeans and loose jumper.

A pang thrummed through Draco's heart like an anvil. The feelings he had come to know and loathe, the feelings he had tried to ignore and push within him, were springing back up and making him feel woozy from emotion. All of a sudden he was furious. Why does he have to be so in love with her? Was this some kind of punishment for torturing her as children? Because it was extraordinarily unfair that he should have to watch her spin around the thawing garden as birds twittered around her pretty face and know he couldn't have her. Because she was all he wanted. He just wanted to kiss her and hold her and be able to laugh with her and play with her curls and be a father to her daughter. But life wasn't fair.

He took one last look at the batty woman befriending blue-jays in the garden, before storming out the front door down to the village.

He was moving so fast and furiously, with his pale, pointed face tucked into his high collar, he didn't notice until it was too late the blonde woman who he had ran into. She stumbled backwards and, on impulse, Draco grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.

"Oh," she said breathlessly in a lovely Irish voice, "Thank you."

He studied her face, he was sure he knew her from somewhere. Her tall frame and curvy figure was something Draco would definitely remember as well as her wavy, shoulder length dark blonde hair that was being blown about by the brisk spring wind. Her tawny eyes had a twinkle of laughter in them and on her lips was a pleasing grin.

He looked up to see where they were standing. It was in front of the pub he and Hermione had gone to so long ago. Suddenly he remembered that this woman was their waitress from that night.

"Hi, I'm Callie," She said, a little flirtatiously.

"I'm D-Daniel," He almost introduced himself as Draco, but he caught himself in time. He found he was using that low, growl he only used on woman he wanted to shag. He didn't begin to wonder why that was.

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear and began flirting with him in earnest. He discovered she was on her way to work for the afternoon shift and she lived in a cottage with the view of the cliffs and she loved jogging and cooking and poetry. She laughed at his snarky comments, where Hermione would just scold him. She batted her eyelashes at him and listened closely to every word he said like he was absolutely brilliant. When Hermione wasn't busy tending to Annabelle, she was lost in the memory of her dead beloved. Draco was a little unused to a woman paying such close attention to him in such a way.

He found he was flirting back, the old arrogance returning to him. It was nice to be complimented and courted, when the object of his affection loved someone else. After craving someone for so long, he loved having someone want him. When she asked him to dinner that evening, he said yes.

"I'll see you tonight, then," She said coquettishly.

"'Til then," He said with a sexy smirk.

She winked at him as she walked into the pub and he continued moving down the street. A smile graced his face, but it wasn't from joy.

When he got home (it was strange, when did he start referring to the little stone hideaway as 'home'?), Hermione was reading the paper and drinking tea with too much milk and honey in it while her toddler daughter was playing with a stuffed hippogriff at her feet. When he walked in, Hermione looked up and smiled so warmly at him he felt instantly guilty.

"Just so you know," He said slowly, "I'm going out to dinner tonight with a girl named Callie. I just wanted you to know I won't be home for dinner."

An odd luck crossed her face. A dark fluttering in her eyes, a twitch of her lip told Draco she was not pleased.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked sharply, standing up to face him with her arms crossed.

"Perhaps I'm just sick and tired of playing house with someone else's kid," He snapped coldly. He knew it was uncalled for – and instantly regretted saying it – but he truly was tired of having to hold in his love for her and maybe needed someone to love him for a change.

She gasped as if he had slapped her, "How _dare _you say that to me!" She was hissing at him as if she were Crookshanks. "You think I like being trapped out here with you? You're a _Death Eater_."

Now it was his turn to be offended, "I was a Death Eater," He growled, "That has changed. But you will never stop being an insufferable mudblood!"

Time stopped. His breath became shallow and uneven. Tears filled her cinnamon eyes. Her gaze dropped to the floor with shame. Her arms hugged her body to shield herself from his cruel words. He reached out a hand, but thought better of it. He could not believe he just said that to her. He thought he had gotten over past grudges and bad influences. He wanted to turn back time and hold those deadly words in. He was a fool for letting his temper get the better of him again.

"Hermione – " He said, wanting – _needing - _to apologize and tell her how he truly felt about her.

The vulnerability washed off of her to be replaced by fierce rage.

"Just remember, _darling,_" She said with mockery lacing her harsh words, "We're supposed to be married." She held up her left hand to reveal the gold band she always wore now, "So if you must go out with that bint, don't get caught."

She snatched up her daughter and stormed from the kitchen, leaving him confused and regretful.

She waited until she was sure he had left to come back downstairs and fix dinner for her and Belle. She wasn't quite sure why she was so angry with Draco. What did it really matter that he went out to dinner with a lady he had randomly met? He had a point; he wasn't bound to her and her daughter in any way besides being forced to live with them. If all that was true, then why did she feel so hurt and angry? Was she... jealous? Impossible. She dismissed that notion immediately. She held no desire whatsoever for Draco Malfoy and thought of him purely as a friend. Besides, her heart was still torn in two over Ron.

She ate in silence, missing the teasing banter that usually went on between her and Draco. She tried not to think if he was perhaps kissing her at this moment or wonder if they were eating at the same restaurant they had eaten at a few months previous. When she went to bed she assured herself she wasn't waiting up for him, she just couldn't sleep. She sat with her eyes wide open in the middle of a bed too big for one person until she heard him slip through the front door, lock it behind him and quietly walk upstairs to his room, being careful not to wake up either her or Belle.

They were both too proud to apologize to the other and therefore didn't speak for a week.

**A/N thanks for reading guys! It would be really amazing if you reviewed! **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N hey guys sorry for the long wait. Sorry, i know i have problems with punctuality. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it though!**

The sun was barely peeking out from behind soft summer clouds as Hermione dug her fingers into the hard earth. It was early June and the garden was beginning to come to life again. Fuelled forward by the song of the blue-jays, Hermione tore weeds from the cool ground and massaged the earth into growing flowers again.

A laugh broke through her determined thoughts. She turned on her knees to see her daughter giggle as a monarch butterfly fluttered around her excited face. Her delight was infectious; Hermione could feel her lips twitching upwards in a grin. Her gaze met Draco's, who was watching her daughter as Hermione gardened, to see the same expression mirrored on his pale face. Warmth in her chest sent her back to her work with a faint blush on her cheeks.

It was a lovely Sunday morning and when Hermione decided to work in her garden, Draco offered to watch Annabelle for her. The young man and toddler were sprawled across a well-worn quilt in the shade of ancient oak tree. The green and white birdhouse hung about a metre above their heads.

Crookshanks gave her a haughty look from the corner of the garden he claimed as his own. He had flattened down some daffodils and was currently flicking his tail as the warm sun lit up his ginger fur. Hermione was slightly exasperated that he had squashed the pretty yellow flowers to make his nest, but couldn't begrudge him this comfort. No one could own nature.

Flowers were growing around her and the air was filled with the sweet scent of them. Hermione planted some roses and watered the dark earth. She was dirty and sweaty and her frizzy hair was tied up in a sloppy ponytail, but when she looked up, Draco was looking at her with a strange intensity in his sterling eyes. She ducked her head in embarrassment. When he was looking at her like that, he made her feel so... warm. It wasn't an altogether terrible feeling. Hermione found herself actually liking it when he stared at her so fiercely.

Annabelle reached upwards as if to grasp the golden sunlight that streamed through the emerald leaves. She tilted her head back in wonder, her little white bonnet sliding backwards. Draco smiled dotingly and made some of the leaves gently fall from the tree and flutter past her face. Her bright blue eyes widened and her lips fell open in innocent shock. Hermione sat back on her heels and felt a joyful melancholy settle in her heart. As the leaves twirled slowly and gently around Belle for her amusement, Hermione smiled sadly. It made her delighted that Annabelle was as enthralled by magic as Hermione was; she just wished she could perform it as well.

Draco looked up to meet her eyes. The look he gave her was just as intense as before, but in a different way. He lifted the enchantment on the leaves, letting them blow in the wind. She was surprised to find tears on her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away before Belle could see.

She went back to her gardening, working the earth with her bare hands, feeling life grow. Just as she covered up the seeds with dirt, it began to be pushed away. Growing at an unnatural rate was the most exquisite rose she had ever seen. Its petals were a delicate peach colour and it was in full bloom, reaching towards the sky.

"Draco," Hermione admonished softly. She wanted to tell him so many things. Like, flowers weren't meant to grow this fast. Magic wasn't a solution to everything. It was unnatural to make a flower bloom in thirty seconds. She wanted to actually _do _something for once, instead of just waving her wand to make it happen. She enjoyed the feeling of dirt under her fingernails and her back aching from kneeling over and the hot sun on her back because she was bringing life to something. And what would he know about doing things for himself when he was raised in a home where magic was always the answer? She wanted to tell him all these things, but the look on his face silenced her. His eyes were so full of hope and warmth. He was trying to do something kind for her, to give her something beautiful. "Thank you," She finished gently, but sincerely. The smile that lit up his face was the best gift.

She decided to take a quick break and went over to sit with Draco and Annabelle. Belle was crawling around and was determined to explore every inch of Hermione's garden. Draco had his work cut out for him trying to keep her on the quilt. They sat across from each other, with the baby in between them.

Draco looked at her and felt a great swell of love in his heart. He loved this feeling, this feeling of closeness with her, even if it was not the way he wanted. He loved her daughter as well, for she was a curious and funny sort of kid (who was bound to be a Slytherin, Hermione is just _wrong _in this one instance), and was thankful that he could spend time with her and be a sort-of father figure to her. He knew when they were called back by the Order, he would sorely miss her. He suddenly realized that they were a family. They were tacked together with heartbreak and loneliness and had jagged edges, but they were indeed a family. A haphazard, second-hand family made up of mismatch pieces and secrets, but a family nonetheless. Annabelle smirked at him with her toothless mouth and Hermione smiled at him softly, the cool light of the tree lighting up the two women in his life.

They spent the rest of the afternoon like that. Playing under the wise oak tree and breathing in the scent of Hermione's flowers and listening to the music of the blue-jays. When the sun started to sink into the earth, they picked up the grass-stained quilt and decided to bring their adventure to an end. Hermione carried in a sleepy Annabelle and Draco brought in the toys and blanket. He glanced at his watch. He had told Callie he would be at her place in half an hour.

He was still seeing Callie, but she was under the impression that he was having an affair on his wife. They never went out on a traditional date, they mostly just spent quality time in her king sized bed. Hermione never mentioned anything about Callie after the disastrous first night; Draco wasn't even sure Hermione knew he was still seeing her. He just snuck out of the house every once in a while without telling her where he was going. But that had to stop. He couldn't continue on with Callie this way, it wasn't fair to her or Hermione.

So when he arrived at her sea-side cottage, he went in with a heavy heart.

She had given him a key and he let himself in. He found his way to her room to find her draped across the sheets wearing nothing but a silky pink robe that left little to the imagination. Her blonde hair was sexily arranged to look tousled and her cheeks were flushed with excitement.

"Hey there," she murmured, smirking up at him. She slithered off the bed and sauntered over to him where she bit her lip and looked up at him from underneath long, dark lashes.

"Callie," he mumbled back. "I can't do this anymore."

She took a step back, hurt splayed all over her features. He never was good at ending relationships.

"What do you mean?" Her tone was guarded, no longer seductive or sultry.

"I can't keep cheating on my wife with you," Draco mumbled, avoiding looking into her hurt tawny eyes. "I love her. It's not fair to her, and it's also not fair to you."

"Is this about your daughter?" Callie asked quietly.

Draco knew she had seen him out with Hermione and Annabelle, and she had assumed (like everyone else) that they were his family.

"I can't do this to them anymore. I can't keep betraying my family. They need me."

"But I need you too!" Callie suddenly cried passionately and threw herself into his arms, tears running thick and fast down her face. "I love you!"

Draco flinched and gently pried her off. "You don't love me, Callie. This isn't a real relationship. I can't keep coming down here to shag. This isn't going anywhere."

He kept inching towards the door, desperate to get away from her. But Callie was clinging to him just as hard.

"Leave her," She said fiercely. "Leave her and run away with me! I can make you happy, much happier than _she _makes you. I can tell that you don't have a happy marriage; why else would you be cheating on her? Come away with me!"

For a split second, he was tempted. It would be nice to be with someone who loved him in return, and he would still be in hiding, just not where the Order had planned. But he would never leave Hermione; he couldn't even if he wanted to. It wasn't because of Harry's threats or fear of the Death Eaters or the spells and enchantments cast around their home. He couldn't walk out on Hermione and Annabelle. He loved them too much to leave them unprotected. And even though it hurt that she didn't love him the way he wanted her to, she did care about him. She _did _make him happy.

"I'm sorry," He said simply before walking away from her, her sobs chasing him out.

When he got back home and was outside the nursery, he knew he had made the right choice in staying. Through the half open door, he could see Hermione rocking her baby daughter in her arms and heard her singing a soft muggle lullaby. He paused to watch the mother and daughter and smiled sadly.

"_You are my sunshine,  
>my only sunshine.<br>You make me happy  
>when skies are grey.<br>You'll never know, dear,  
>how much I love you.<br>So please,  
>don't take my sunshine away."<em>

Hermione's voice was nearly a whisper, meant to soothe and relax her daughter. Draco's love for her made tears spring to his eyes. He would never leave them.

**A/N hey guys! Hope you like this chapter! It would be super if you all reviewed! Thanks! Have a good evening! **


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N sorry for the late update. My personal life is shit at the moment. My best friend of ten years up and tells me that she is too busy to be my friend right now, she would rather spend time with new friends. Im sort of extremely pissed off. I don't harry potter. This chapter might be shit. **

Hermione turned her back on her daughter for half a second only to find her up to her elbows in pink icing when she turned back around.

"Belle," she said, exasperated. "That's for you birthday cupcakes! It's not for you to eat right now!"

Annabelle was one years old today and Hermione was preparing for the party she and Draco were throwing. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure Harry would visit today. Draco was at work and was bound to be home any minute. Hermione had the kitchen window propped open to let some of the fresh summer air in, and let the heat of the old oven out. The radio was playing softly, too low for Hermione to properly hear the lyrics, she could just make out the melody, but the chirp of the blue-jays and Belle's delighted laughter was good enough for her.

The breeze blew the leaves, making them rustle, like old-fashioned skirts of Victorian ladies, or the quiet whispering between companions. The chimes that hung on the lowest branch of the oak tree sang in the summer wind, the bamboo and glass making Hermione feel exotic and foreign, for just a moment.

But she was in the outskirts of Dingle, making cupcakes for her daughter's first birthday. The daughter who had pink icing up and down her chubby arms and was now currently running her sticky fingers through her auburn waves. Hermione sighed in weary affection and washed her off. She iced the cupcakes with Belle's help (she was in charge of licking the spoon afterwards) and then brought them both upstairs to get ready.

She changed Belle's diaper and smoothed her unruly hair, tying it in a blue ribbon. She dressed her in a soft blue summer dress with white sandals. When Belle was clean and presentable and grinning up at her with a smile full of little baby teeth, Hermione picked her up and plopped her onto her white quilt in Hermione's own room.

Belle watched in silent fascination as her mother smoothed pomade into her hair to soothe the frizz and tamed it into gentle curls. Hermione dressed quickly in a white sundress that had spaghetti straps and fell from the bodice to just above her knees. Before she could slip on her shoes, she heard Draco come in. She hurried down the creaky, wooden stairs carrying the birthday girl, eager to see him again.

Draco couldn't help but smile affectionately when he watched Hermione race down the stairs in her bare feet, her curls swishing behind her and her Claddagh ring glittering in the sunlight. Annabelle was smiling and they both looked so excited to see him, he felt instantly warmer and lighter inside.

"Hey birthday girl," he said to Belle, fondly. "How has your day been, love?"

She gurgled happily and Hermione translated her baby talk with a smile, "We made cupcakes for Belle's birthday, didn't we sweetie? But she couldn't wait until after dinner to have one, so she stuck her hands in the icing bowl!"

Draco laughed, "Nice one, Belle. Anything that annoys your mother is hilarious."

Hermione mocked scowled and shoved his shoulder. He laughed again, a sound that was deep and rich and warm, a sound she had never heard before Annabelle was born.

Hermione handed Belle off to him as she started preparing dinner. She asked him about his day, he told her all the dramas of working in a second-hand bookshop and exaggerated everything just to make her laugh. He leaned against the countertop as she put the chicken in the oven and started cutting up vegetables for the salad. The setting sun made Annabelle's hair burn like fire and even highlighted the faint red strands in Hermione's hair. They chatted easily, about nothing in particular, just simple conversation. He teased her and she pretended to be offended. Draco watched as Hermione's cheeks flushed with passion and her cinnamon eyes shined in the golden light. Her soft curls fell around her shoulders and down her back, nearing her waist after months of not getting cut. The sunset made her skin glow and her hair flash gold, titian, sable. She laughed, tilting her head back, making her curls tumble down her slim back like a waterfall. She brought a hand to her lips to hold her amusement in, but didn't quite manage it. Annabelle started giggling when her mother did and Draco felt love flutter in his heart as the only family he had now laughed and laughed and laughed.

The doorbell rang, cutting through their peaceful moment. Hermione gave him one last look of affection, pleasure and pure, simple happiness before running out of the kitchen to answer it.

He heard her exclaim in delight as she let in her closest friends. He walked into the front room where everyone was gathered. It was all the same people as it was at Christmas.

"Happy Birthday, petal!" Mrs Weasley cooed to Belle, as proud and doting as if she were actually her grandmother.

Hermione ushered them into the kitchen where they squeezed around the wooden table to enjoy Annabelle's birthday supper. Draco saw that Teddy Lupin was placed next to Belle. He also saw Belle dump her cup of juice on his head. He had to hold in a laugh as little Teddy wailed and wouldn't be calmed until his mother performed a quick _scourgify. _

It was loud and busy, as dinner with the Weasley's always was. Everyone was talking at the same time and peals of laughter interrupted conversation on a regular basis. Fleur was making snide comments to Bill behind her hand about Hermione's cooking. Ginny and Fred and George were making the kids laugh. Mr and Mrs Weasley and Tonks and Lupin were discussing Quidditch. Harry was seated with Hermione, and Draco scowled as he noticed the other man lean down and whisper into Hermione's ear. He wasn't quite close enough to hear what was being said, but he resented the worried frown on Hermione's face.

"'Mione," Harry whispered. That was a nickname she only allowed Harry and Ron to use. "Neville and Luna aren't here."

"I know," she murmured back, playing with her fork. All outside conversation faded away until it was just her and Harry. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing!" Harry said quickly, seeing the look of tightly controlled agony on his best friend's face. "It's just... last week there was a raid. It... it didn't go well. We were outnumbered. They used spells I had never even seen before."

"How many did we lose?" She asked, so softly she knew he must've had to strain to hear her. She forced her voice to sound cold. She knew she was half a step away from falling into the deep, dark hole of depression Ron's death had thrown her. Any more deaths would completely unhinge her. She made herself detach from her emotions, physically push away from the pain she knew was coming.

"Neville's blind," he said quickly, like he wanted to get it over with, "A spell hit him in-between the eyes. Luna's tending to him now. He's sorry he couldn't come."

Hermione's breath came in short, jagged gasps.

"But we got a few of their side, 'Mione," He said fiercely. "Ginny killed Avery and Lupin killed Jugson. They weren't very high up in the ranks, but we are steadily getting an advantage. Not long now, and you'll be able to come home."

Hermione involuntarily looked across the table to where Draco was pretending to converse with Mr Weasley but was so obviously trying to eavesdrop on her conversation with Harry. Where was home now? Was it Shell Cottage, where she drowned in grief and where the walls probably still echoed her heartbreak? Was it her childhood home where she had spent her pre-Hogwarts years? But as Draco sneaked a look at her again, she wondered, could this little stone cottage be her home?

The finished the meal and Hermione brought out the chocolate cupcakes with pink icing. She placed a single candle in one of the cakes and placed it in front of her daughter. They all sang in loud, off-key, joyful voices _Happy Birthday _and Belle clapped when they had finished. She blew out her candle, spraying baby spittle all over her pink cupcake.

They showered her with gifts. Stuffed animals, toys and books, a music box, pretty clothes but the best present was from Harry. He had presented to his goddaughter a miniature broom.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, "This is too much! And isn't it dangerous?"

"Annabelle is worth it, she's my favourite goddaughter!" He said happily. "And it's not dangerous; I got my first broom when I was her age."

"She's your only goddaughter," Hermione pointed out with a smile. "But thank you."

He took Belle outside, and brought everyone else with him, except for Mrs Weasley and Fleur, who had no interest in the broomstick.

Hermione watched out the window as Harry set her onto it. But it was Draco who was smiling dotingly and protectively at her. He paid no mind to the crowd gathering in the garden. His eyes never looked away from her, as if determined to keep her safe, and never strayed more than two feet away. The little broom didn't go more than a foot off the ground, but Hermione knew Draco wouldn't ease up on his guard of Annabelle.

"He's changed so much," Mrs Weasley noted, joining Hermione at the window, drying a dish as she spoke, "He obviously cares a lot about Annabelle."

"Yes, he does," Hermione murmured, watching the faint light in the garden from the glowing windows light up Draco and Annabelle, the people she cared most about in this world.

Draco was smiling at the little girl, so softly and affectionately it was as if he had never seen anyone as perfect as she. Belle was laughing as her little feet dragged a few inches above the dewy grass. Hermione knew Mrs Weasley was right, Draco _had _changed. He had taken care of her and her daughter and had slowly become her friend. She also knew he loved Annabelle very much, besides Hermione and the doctors; he was the first person to see her. He had taken Hermione to the hospital and had waited the entire night for the baby to be born.

Hermione felt a now familiar warmth settle in her heart. She watched the pair play and; laugh in the back garden in the light from the kitchen windows and the lantern hanging above the back door.

She must've been watching them too long, because Mrs Weasley said softly, "Do you love him?"

"No!" Hermione denied instantly. Mrs Weasley just gave her a sad look and went back to the dishes.

Hermione didn't love Draco. Did she? She couldn't. She loved Ron! But she had to admit... sometimes she thought she maybe loves him. Not often, she assured herself quickly, only once in a while. Like after she put Belle to bed and Hermione had changed into loose pants and one of Draco's sweatshirts and they curled up on the couch sipping red wine and discussing whatever muggle novel she was reading that day. He was always fascinated of her opinions of the books he had never heard of. She loved re-telling the story of _The English Patient _or _Pride and Predjudice _to him; he was spellbound by the ideas and concepts that were so new to him. Or if they were really tired, they would just watch the TV he was still in awe over until Hermione fell asleep leaning against him and he would carry her upstairs.

She didn't love him, except for then. And except for Sunday mornings when he didn't have to work and they would make breakfast together in their pajamas and he would sing silly songs that he had made up on the spot to Belle who would laugh and fling her food everywhere. And he would tease Hermione about her frizzy hair and her neat-freak tendencies and she would call him a ferret and he always remembered the way she took her tea. He read the Local and Foreign News section in the newspaper and she would read the Travel and Tourism section. And then he would read aloud the comics for Belle. He always did all the voices.

Hermione started to panic. She did love him. She did. She loved Draco Malfoy. She suddenly found it difficult to breathe. How could she love anyone but Ron? How could she betray his memory like this? She was a despicable human being. She was the lowest of the low. She was in love with another man besides the father of her child. But hadn't Draco been acting like a father to Belle? He loved her, Hermione knew, and he provided for her and played with her, just like a real father would.

She held in a whimper. Ron's mother and sister-in-law were standing right next to her. His family were playing outside with his daughter and she was thinking about how in love she was with another man. They would hate her if they knew. Harry would hate her. She couldn't lose them. Not now, not Harry. Not after everything they had been through. They were her family, if they left her, she wouldn't be able to manage.

She would keep this sick feeling a secret, she decided. No one must ever know her greatest shame. She handed the last dish to Mrs Weasley to dry with a bright smile on her face and pretended she could never be in love with anyone but Ron.

**A/N i know the wait was long but i hope this is worth it! Please please please review, it makes me day and i really need a boost right now! Thanks guys! **


	20. Chapter 20

Hermione clutched Annabelle closer to her chest and waited at the top of the stairs. She listened intently, hardly daring to breathe, lest he know she was there. She was waiting for Draco to leave for work, and only when she heard the door slam would she venture down to the kitchen.

Eventually, he did leave and she hurried to put together Belle's breakfast. She couldn't stand to face Draco, not since Belle's birthday. She knew she would never be able to hide her feelings for him, Harry and Ron had often teased her for wearing her heart on her sleeve and having a face like an open book, and she knew if their eyes met he would see her love for him as clearly as if they were written in ink.

And the worst part was that she knew he loved her in return. He apparently wasn't good at hiding his emotions either; clearly his Death Eater training didn't pay off. It would be so, so easy to be in love with him. They could raise Annabelle like a real family. But she could never betray Ron. She couldn't pretend that Belle's father was Draco when her real father died defending Hermione. She could never hurt Harry, either. If she started a relationship with Draco, it would be a double slap to the face. She would be with his childhood enemy as well as being disloyal to his best friend.

She raked her sharp nails over her chest. Her heart was hurting so bad, she half-wished she could claw it out. She just wanted to be happy.

After a few days, he figured out something was wrong. He kept trying to talk to her, but she would disappear before he could ask her. He was so afraid he had done something wrong, he kept going over everything that happened in the days before she stopped speaking to him, but he couldn't figure it out.

Finally he had had enough. When Hermione was on the second floor landing outside of Annabelle's room, he cornered her and blocked her exit.

"Draco, I need to get Belle up from her nap," Hermione muttered, avoiding his probing eyes.

"Hermione, we need to talk," He said firmly, not letting her pass.

She winced, "About what?"

"Don't pretend you don't understand!" He snapped, more angrily than he had intended.

She flinched and seemed to curl in on herself.

"Just tell me what I did wrong!" He said fiercely, almost pleading, "I never meant to hurt you in any way!"

"You didn't hurt me," She mumbled, staring at the ground. "This isn't about you."

"Then _what," _he nearly shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her once, "Is it about?"

She looked into his eyes for the first time in nearly a week. His large silver eyes were full of passionate emotions – frustration, anger, pain, fear and love. Love was the strongest emotion, the most overbearing. Hermione felt tears rising in her own brown eyes and when they dripped down her cheeks, didn't bother to wipe them away.

"I'm in love with you!" Hermione cried, "I love you so much it hurts! But – but it's... I can't, Draco! We can't! So _please _just leave me alone! It's for the best!"

She stood there nearly sobbing, her slim body shaking. Draco looked at her for one long moment with something akin to triumph in his bright eyes before pulling her into his arms in a tight embrace. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he placed one hand on her lower back and his other on the back of her head, as if he pressed her against him hard enough they would become one.

He held her a long time, until her sobs were nearly silent. Then she looked up with teary, red eyes and kissed him. It was not passionate or romantic; it was brief, almost chaste. Just a quick brushing of lips. But for Draco, it sent his heartbeat into overdrive.

"No," Hermione gasped, pushing him away, "No, no, no."

"Hermione, listen to me," He said, gripping her arms before she could run away, "You are _not _a bad person for falling in love!"

He could see the memory of Ron shining in her grief-stricken eyes.

"I am," She said in a voice like she was getting burned from the inside, "I am supposed to love Ron for the rest of my life, he died to protect me. He died loving me. And I'm betraying him."

"He would want you to be happy, Hermione," Draco said fiercely, "I can tell you're not happy right now. Stop punishing yourself. None of this is your fault. It's alright to love him and honour his memory, but you can't let that stop you from living your life. You deserve to be happy, Hermione."

She said nothing for a long time. Her shoulders trembled with silent sobs and Draco gave her space. He understood the agonizing pain she must be feeling, but he truly wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to laugh and love without feeling like she should always be mourning Ron. She deserved to live the fullest life possible.

"I love you, Hermione." Draco said, so calmly and firmly, like it was an obvious fact.

One last sob broke through her lips and for the first time in a long time, Draco could see a glimmer of hope and love in her cinnamon eyes.

"I love you too, Draco." She said with no hesitation, albeit slightly breathlessly.

She crossed the three feet between them slowly, taking small, careful steps. She looked inquisitively up at him and half-smiled shyly. She slowly – so slowly Draco wanted to snatch her up and drag her over to him, but he wanted her to feel safe so he resisted – raised her face to his and kissed him gently.

He wanted so bad to push it further and kiss her until he couldn't breathe, but he didn't want to scare her off, so he went at her pace.

After a few days of tentative touches and nearly chaste kisses, they were beginning to act like a real couple. She was becoming braver and more outward with her affection and he was learning how to take romance slowly. They weren't perfect; they were still learning how to be together. But they loved each other deeply, so it was worth the effort.

After a few weeks, Hermione took Annabelle to pick Draco up from work. It was a warm summer evening and Alice ended up inviting them in for tea.

Hermione was curled up against Draco and he had an arm around her. They were acting loving and affectionate to each other and whispering softly in the other's ear.

"I have never seen you two like this before," Alice said teasingly, "Is something going on?"

"No," Hermione said with a smile, "We're just in love."

"How about I look after Annabelle tomorrow night, and you two can have the evening for yourselves," Alice suggested generously, "I imagine you don't get much alone time with Belle around."

"Thank you Alice, that's very generous of you," Draco said.

Hermione's heart jumped. This would be her first real 'date' with Draco.

The conversation paused when Hermione noticed her baby girl standing without anyone's help.

"Oh, Belle you clever girl!" Hermione cooed, "Daniel, look at her!"

And then right before their eyes, Annabelle took her first steps. Hermione and Draco were delighted and Alice took a dozen photographs.

They walked home, swinging Belle by her hands on the way. Draco and Hermione smirked at each other over her head and he even childishly stuck his tongue out at her, just to make her laugh. Hermione knew she would never forget Ron, or even stop loving him, but she loved Draco now, and he made her so happy, she felt like she was flying.

**A/N im so so so sorry this is late, but i cant even begin to describe the amount of stress that was my life for the past few months. Im just super sorry and i will try to get these chapters to you in a timely manner from now on. Ps, taylor swift wrote a song for the hunger games soundtrack and its absolutely gorgeous its called Safe and Sounds. Thanks for reading guys, have a merry Christmas or happy holidays or happy new year! **


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N no excuse for lateness. I just fell into other fandoms and couldn't focus on this at all. But im hoping to update fairly regularly because its summer and i don't have anything to do all day long except waste time on tumblr. So i think anyone who is still reading this story deserves a high-five, you're the best! **

Hermione sat at the edge of her bed staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was not exactly pleased at her appearance. Her stomach still had a bit of a pouch from pregnancy that no amount of sit-ups could flatten. Her thighs jiggled slightly when she walked from lack of exercise lately and her skin was almost too pale. She was a nervous disaster for her 'date' with Draco tonight. She was trying so hard to be pretty for him, but as usual, she was self-conscious and insecure. She was wearing a modest black dress and low black heels. She couldn't decide if she wanted her hair up or down so she tied it up in a loose knot with a few tendrils hanging around her face. She was wearing a bit of makeup for the first time in years, just to bring out her features. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly six. She got up to get Annabelle ready to go to Alice's.

When her daughter's baby bag was packed and waiting at the front door, she called to Draco.

"Are you ready? We told Alice we'd drop her off at six!" She shouted up the stairs to him.

"I'm coming!" He called back, hurrying down the stairs. What Hermione didn't know was that Draco was freaking out just as much as she was. He really wanted this to be perfect.

He paused at the bottom of the stairs, when he looked at her. His gaze made her blush.

"You look beautiful," He said softly.

"Thanks, you too," She said nervously. At his wry grin she blushed darker and stammered, "I meant handsome."

He tried not to laugh as he took the baby bag from her and held the door open. She pushed the stroller out into the evening and they headed down the path to town.

The walk to Alice's flat was mostly spent in excited silence. Both Hermione and Draco snuck glances at the other but blushed and turned away if they were caught. There was a sense of electricity in the air, like right before a storm. As if in just a moment, everything was going to light up with energy.

Alice was waiting at the door of the shop when they arrived. Hermione handed Belle off and Draco brought the bag inside and left it on the counter.

"Now what time are you going to pick her up?" Alice asked with a sly grin on her face. "Tomorrow morning?"

"No!" Draco and Hermione exclaimed loudly at the same time. They were nowhere close to be being ready for that yet.

"Um, probably around ten," Hermione said weakly.

Alice looked a little confused but nodded and they walked down the street to a fancy restaurant where Draco had made reservations. They had wine with their meal and for once they didn't bicker the entire time.

Hermione felt a bit shy, a bit out of place. She was used to pub food, or home cooking or camping rations, not fine dining. This was what Draco knew and grew up with though so even though she was out of her element she did her best to fit in with the high class patrons.

Draco could tell from looking at her face that she was uncomfortable. He could've kicked himself. He should've picked somewhere brighter, warmer; somewhere easier to talk in but he was hoping to impress her. She caught him frowning and smiled reassuringly at him.

After dinner, they walked along the main street holding hands.

"Sorry about that," He said. "I shouldn't have picked that restaurant."

"It's fine, I liked it." She squeezed his hand and smiled warmly at him. "I'm happy just being with you."

He physically fought back the stupid, lovesick grin those words gave him and just nodded gruffly back at her. She saw though his tough-guy act and smirked, linking their arms together.

"Do you want to see a movie?" He asked. He had read several teen muggle novels in the past week, trying to research what people actually did on dates.

Hermione pauses before answering. She'd rather talk to Draco then have to be quiet and sit in a dark theatre for two hours.

"Do you want to take a walk?" She asks instead.

They walk along the cliffs and eventually sit down with their feet hanging over the edge. Hermione likes it. She likes the sight of her bare, pale feet (her heels were kicked off a few steps away) against the pitch black of the rolling ocean. And she likes the heavy feeling of danger in her stomach, enough to be exciting, but not enough to hurt anyone.

"Can I tell you something?" She asked shyly, looking up at him underneath long eyelashes coquettishly, making Draco's breath hitch.

"Sure," He whispered.

"This is my first date." She grinned, laughing at herself.

"How?" He asked, confused that she's had a boyfriend and a child but had never been on a date.

"Well, Ron and I got together during a war, so there was no time for like going out for dinner or something. And I went to the Yule Ball in fourth year with Viktor Krum but is a dance a date? And I didn't even like him romantically. So this has been my first date." She smiled shyly at him and he smiled back.

Draco thought back. "I don't think I've ever been on a real date before either. I mean, during the war I... was intimate with women," Draco said, trying not to be crude much to the amusement of Hermione, "but never dated them. And at Hogwarts there was only Pansy. Who I really only snogged a bit."

He realized with a frown his dating history was not good. While Hermione had only ever been with Ron, he had had dozens of one night stands, but never a relationship to show for it.

"Well," Hermione said softly, twining her fingers through his, "I'm glad we got to spend our first date together."

He leaned over and kissed her gently. He could feel her smile into the kiss. She deepened it, much to his surprise, and leaned into him. He ran his hands up her thighs, playing with the hemline of her dress. She gasped, her hands tangled in his hair, and he gently laid her back. This was the furthest they've gone, and he was getting pretty worked up. They were on the edge of a massive cliff but he could feel his blood pounding and heart racing with want. He was just reaching under her dress, when he felt a block of ice drop into his heart.

He pushed away from her to see his emotions displayed on her face. Suddenly, it seemed like it had dropped twenty degrees. It was now nearly pitch black, like all the stars and the moon were gone and the waves had fallen silent. He blindly reached for her hand and was only slightly comforted.

He was scared, more scared than he had been in a long time. He suddenly remembered the day his mother died. How his father laughed and how Draco had run away like a frightened child. He remembered how the light left her eyes and that the last word she ever said was a terrified scream of his name.

"_You killed her,_" he heard a voice inside his head say. "_She did everything to save you, and you let her die._"

He looked over to Hermione, who was curled into a ball with her eyes squeezed shut and her hands pressed against her ears.

"_Hermione doesn't love you," _the voice continued, "_You're her second choice. If Ron were alive, do you think she would ever look twice at you? You're a Death Eater, a _murderer. _She can do so much better. She will leave you. You're not good enough for her. She will grow tired of you. She will soon hate you."_

"Stop it," Draco mumbled. He could barely think for all the voices in his head.

"_And her daughter," _the voice hissed, _"Annabelle. She will never see you as her father. Your comrades killed her real father. She will never trust you. When she finds out the truth, she too will hate you. You are worthless, Draco Malfoy. No one could ever love someone like you. You are better off dead. You should be dead, instead of your mother._"

Draco realized belatedly that the voice whispering all his faults and insecurities inside his mind sounded like his father when he was a child and made a mistake. His father always would shout at him all the things Draco was ashamed or frightened of. This awareness made him furious. His father was dead; he could no longer torture Draco with cruel words.

He reached for his wand and stood up to see the sky swarming with Dementors. It made sense, Dementors brought out your worst thoughts and memories and Lucius hurting Draco through his fears was a terrible memory. He saw Hermione still curled up on the ground and clutched his wand tighter. He was about to use the Patronus Charm when he noticed that they weren't stopping. It was a huge group of them, but they were moving quickly over the land and through the sky, not even noticing where they were going. And soon enough, they were gone.

The stars and moon were shining again, the waves were crashing against the cliff and the air was heating up. Hermione was still crying on the ground, though she was sitting up. Draco only then felt the tears running down his own cheeks.

"Hermione," Draco asked worriedly, "Are you okay?"

"Ron," She sobbed and Draco felt his heart sink. "I watched him die again. Again and again and again. And then it was you who died and then Belle and then Harry. I watched you all die. I watched the Death Eaters kill you all and there was nothing I could do to save you."

She was clinging to Draco and crying openly. "It's fine, you're safe," Draco murmured into the curve between her throat and her shoulder, "I'm safe, Belle's safe and Harry's safe. We're all fine."

"I was Dementors, wasn't it?" She asked, when she calmed down. "What happened to them?"

"I don't know," Draco said honestly, "There was a huge pack of them, just moving over the buildings but not stopping and then they just kept going."

"It must have been just a scout group then," Hermione said knowledgably; "They were probably just covering the country, but weren't looking for someone."

"Lucky for us," Draco murmured. He was a little nervous that the Death Eater's knew where they were but, he reminded himself for the millionth time, they didn't even know that he and Hermione were in a safe house, much less where that safe house was. And they didn't even know that Hermione was pregnant. Thinking of that made him want to check on Belle immediately. Hermione seemed to be thinking the same thing because she said, "Do you want to get Annabelle now?"

He nodded and they headed towards the bookshop. All along the street were people recovering from the Dementor passing. Some people were crying, some were shaking, some were getting up from the ground. Alice opened the door as soon as Draco knocked. She was very pale and trembling slightly but seemed alright. Inside the flat, the sound of a baby crying could be heard.

"Oh, Annabelle," Hermione whispered and pushed passed Alice to get to her daughter. As soon as her mother picked her up, the little girl's cries stopped. She whimpered for a few more minutes though and was restless and irritable.

"I-I don't know what happened," Alice said, for once stuttering and unsure, "She couldn't sleep so I was rocking her by the window with the window open, hoping that the cool sea breeze would relax her, when all of a sudden it got very dark and very cold." She frowned at the memory and winced, "I started remembering the night of my husband's death. And how I couldn't save him. And... how lonely I've been..." Alice's trembling started getting worse until Draco touched her hand gently. "And then," Alice said, getting back to her usual stern self, "It was almost like Annabelle could see something outside because she started crying and thrashing to get away from the window. It almost looked like... her eyes were following something moving outside. But there was no one there."

Hermione and Draco exchanged a quick, fearful glance. Annabelle could see the Dementors. This was her first sign of having magical powers.

"I don't think so, Alice," Hermione said gently, "Belle is just a baby and how could she see something that wasn't there?"

Alice nodded but still seemed confused.

"Why don't you take a hot bath and go to bed early," Hermione suggested, "Things will be better in the morning."

They heard the lock click and the deadbolt slam when Alice shut the door behind them. They hurried home as fast as they could and Draco checked the Fidelius Charm and redid all the defensive spells. Hermione tucked Annabelle into bed, trying to keep as calm as possible. When her daughter was asleep and Draco was back in the house, Hermione cornered him in the kitchen.

"We've made a mistake," She said, "We've been parading around town and becoming friendly with people. We've been risking our daughter's life," Draco was extremely surprised, but pleased, to hear Hermione refer to Belle as 'their' daughter but now was not the moment to comment on it, "We never should've taken her outside the Fidelius Charm. We ourselves should only have left it for emergencies. We've been careless."

"But like you said, the Dementors were just scouts, just meant to scare the muggles," Draco protested, "They weren't looking for anything, they didn't even stop once. The Dark Lord – I mean, You-Know-Who, has probably released them and is letting them wander through the UK as they please."

"Maybe, but we can't take that chance," Hermione argued, "From now on, we need to limit our time outside the border of the spell. And we can no longer use magic."

"What?" Draco cried incredulously, "Why would you want us to stop using magic?"

"Because we are not keeping with our disguises!" She exclaimed back, "We're slipping up! We need to fully fall into the roles of Hattie and Dan Mason! It's the only way to keep Belle safe! I'm going to write to Harry and tell him not to contact us until the war ends – his visits may have been drawing unwanted attention to us."

Draco knew he would have no hope of arguing with her when she was like this. "Fine," He relented, "But we're not staying in this house like hermits until the war ends. We can go out like normal, if we're careful."

She sighed and nodded and he made to leave the kitchen, "But Draco," She called after him and turned around, "Do not tell Annabelle anything about magic until the war is over. I don't want her getting too curious or involved. Promise me."

"I promise," Draco said seriously.

Hermione slumped against the counter in relief. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. He kissed her on the forehead and murmured to her, "Come on, let's go hide the magic toys."

Hermione and Draco brought out the trunk that Hermione had used to carry her things here, a year and a half ago and proceeded to fill it with all their things from the wizarding world. All her spells books and magical history books and his Quidditch magazines were the first to go. They had to sneak into Belle's room without waking her and steal away her stuffed Hippogriff and other magical toys. The one Draco was the most upset over was the toy broom.

"Really?" He asked, "This too? Can't we just leave this out?"

"No, they all have to go," Hermione said, looking sad but determined.

When Hermione had to put in the only picture of her and Ron, she started tearing up. The picture was magical, it moved. How would she ever be able to explain it to Annabelle? She gently placed it in then looked away. The last things to go in the trunk were their wands. Even though Hermione hadn't been able to use hers in ages, it still felt unbearably painful to lock it away. Even Draco was subdued. With their wands locked away, it felt as if they were missing a limb. Draco lifted the trunk into the crawlspace above Hermione's bureau and locked the door behind it. Hermione hid the key under her mattress and when everything was locked away and done with, they just looked at each other wearily.

"Well," Hermione said, "Let our new lives begin."

**A/N well i hope you all enjoyed this! The next chapter should be up within the week i hope! Please please review? **


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